Six
by Matteoarts
Summary: It's been years since the fall of Spyglass. Ships are being attacked by an unknown entity, and the only link they have is the number six. As Gray and her team of 'Ghosts' attempt to connect the pieces of the puzzle, they begin to unravel a dark plot spanning decades. They must race to discover answers, knowing that what they find will change the frontier forever. (GHOSTS - BOOK 1)
1. Prologue

" _The reports are coming in now, sir."_

" _And what do they say?"_

" _Our initial findings were accurate; Spyglass has been destroyed, and half of Regis along with him. New Humanity is no more."_

" _Not quite. The head of the snake may have been severed, but the rest of its body may still yet writhe. His doctrines have grown like a fungus, spreading their roots throughout the minds of the weak. Granted, we no longer hover over the edge of extinction- but we have a ways to go before New Humanity's influence disappears forever."_

" _A wise assessment, sir. I'll look into further eradication of its supporters."_

" _I'm sure that the new governing body of the frontier will dispatch agents to assist with that as well."_

" _New governing body? It's been less than twelve hours since the Embers' victory-"_

" _And I'm sure that their ranks are already being assessed from within for someone to fill the power vacuum that Spyglass left behind."_

" _With all due respect, sir … should that not be you? With all your information, and the decades of experience you've obtained-"_

" _The nature of my influence and power requires that I stay in the shadows. The moment I were to reveal myself- all of it would disappear. People respect and fear 'the Advocate' because they do not know them. They do not know if it's a man, a woman, an AI, a collective group of like-minded aristocrats … there's far more to be gained from a lack of identity than the possession of one."_

" _I understand."_

" _That does not mean that we are without control, however. Whoever sits at the forefront of whatever new government rises, they will be someone of_ _ **our**_ _choosing. Put forth Amelia Vale's name as a nomination."_

" _The leader of the Embers?"_

" _The same. If I recall correctly, she has not yet repaid what she owes- having someone indebted to me in the seat of power will provide us with a plethora of new opportunities."_

" _She's in your debt?"_

" _Years ago, I saved her life at the urging of another of my investments. I have not yet collected from either of them, but I will not hesitate to do so now."_

" _I can't believe you saw such a potential use for her so long ago."_

" _Even a pawn can play a vital role in securing victory for the king. Start spreading the word, let the people begin to whisper her name. She'll be preoccupied with her current search for several days at least, I imagine- plenty of time for inception to occur."_

" _Speaking of her search …"_

" _Ah, yes. Four … the defiant reflection."_

" _Our reports say that he and his Titan were left behind on the surface when the fold-weapon's portal destabilized. The chances of them having survived are astronomical, to say the least- a non-zero probability at best."_

" _It's more than enough."_

"… _Sir?"_

"… _For twenty years, I tried to find him … and, quite by accident, he suddenly resurfaced from seemingly nowhere. He wasn't even trying to hide- that was the issue. I'd never imagined to find him so openly. Even kept his numerical designation, though I suspect he did not fully grasp the importance behind his name. Perhaps he did not remember."_

" _What would you like us to do?"_

" _I've spent many of my resources trying to locate him, and spent even more trying to assist him in overthrowing Spyglass. At this point, I'm far too invested to give up now. One way or another … it's time to bring him home."_

" _Understood, sir. I'll deliver your commands to the proper channels. Primus inter pares."_

" _Primus inter pares."_

* * *

 _ **A/N: What's this? Is it ... a new series set in the 'Architects' continuity?!**_

 _ **Everyone, allow me to introduce you to ... the 'Ghosts' trilogy.**_

 _ **For the last few months, I've been hard at work thinking about what a fourth book's plot would entail ... and I realized that I believe the time is right for a new set of stories, ones with new characters to follow, new worlds to explore, and new adversaries to face. In addition, I also understood that most of Inferno, Tempest, and Cinder happened by accident, and only worked together due to sheer luck. That will not be the case with the 'Ghosts' trilogy.**_

 _ **For once, I am pleased to say that careful consideration has been taken into account- and all three planned stories to the trilogy have ONE overarching plot which will slowly be resolved over the course of the series.**_

 _ **I still have to finish 'The Architect Codex', of course ... so don't expect super frequent updates to this until that's done. Or if Titanfall 3 is announced, like I said; whichever comes first. But once this does start hitting the ground, you guys are in for quite a few answers to the lingering questions you all had at the end of Cinder.**_

 _ **Just be aware that this story will be referencing the canon of 'Codex', not the original three books. So, if something seems off, that's probably why.**_

 _ **All in all, however, I just want to say ... it's good to be back.**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	2. A Disturbance

**—** **GRIDIRON, EIGHTEEN MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF SPYGLASS —**

The road was empty at this late an hour, save for the two armored 'Samson' class trucks rumbling down its stretch in the dead of night.

They drove cautiously, but with purpose; from the backseat of the vehicle in the rear, two men's gazes darted towards every shadow and tree next to the road, their branches hanging over the street like outstretched claws waiting to strike.

One held a rifle, one which he fidgeted with to no end- scratching notches into the stock, checking and rechecking the ammo counter. The other held no weapon- just a single steel-case box which sat on his lap. As the seconds ticked by, the first man peered keenly out of the tinted window as he had been doing for the last hour.

"Would you stop that?" the other snarled in a thick german accent, his own anxiety reaching peak levels at his companion's need for reassurance. The other snapped his gaze around, equally on edge.

"If you want to get jumped by the Network, be my guest; but until then, I'm going to keep making sure our route's secure-"

"Both of you, shut it," the driver ordered, trying to focus on the road. "Your barking at one another isn't going to help- we're less than five klicks from the meeting point, just hang tight and we'll all-"

 _SCREEEE._

Without warning, the brakes of the car in front kicked into full effect, and the driver swore as he was forced to use his as well in order to avoid crashing into the back of the other truck.

"Jesus, what the hell's wrong with them?" he growled, waiting for them to start moving again so they could continue.

The other Samson remained stationary, on and running- but refusing to move.

 _WHAM._

All three of them jerked in their seats and looked up to the roof of the car. Something had just landed on it- and whatever it was, they had a good feeling that it was the cause for the other car's sudden stop.

Slowly, the man in the back tightened his grip on his rifle.

The driver noticed and quietly hissed, "No, wait-"

The gunman raised it and yelled incoherently as he began firing through the roof at whatever was sitting up there. Bullet after bullet tore through the canopy as he held the trigger down until the gun began bleating an alarm that there was no ammo left in the magazine.

All three of them listened intently for sounds of movement. They heard nothing.

"You, stay in here," the driver order to the man holding the box. "You, with me." Drawing a sidearm from a holster on his leg, the driver opened his door and stepped out as the gunman did the same. The box-holder watched as they closed their respective doors, and moved around with their guns drawn and ready.

The gunman inspected the roof of the car- nothing there except for his bullets' exit holes. He looked all over the top of the Samson and near the ground for a trail of blood, footprints, anything- but he couldn't see any evidence that someone had been there.

"I'm thinkin' maybe it's just an animal," he muttered, half directed towards the driver but mostly said as an attempt to convince himself. "What about you?"

His answer came in the form a soft _thud_ on the other side of the car. Hearing the noise, he quickly maneuvered to the opposite end and was rewarded with a sight of the driver lying face-down in the dirt … or technically face-up, thanks to a broken neck.

"Oh, shit."

Inside the car, the last man didn't see or hear much aside from watching the gunman get thrown into the side of the car with a resounding _SLAM._ He clutched the case tightly, willing it to protect him somehow from whatever was doing this to them-

Suddenly, he watched as his door was wrenched off its hinges and cast aside. That wasn't what worried him, however- what worried him was the fact that _there_ _was_ _no one there._

"Ein geist," he muttered, his face turning pale as his body began to quiver.

" _Of a sort."_

A disembodied voice spoke seemingly from right in front of him, but he couldn't see them-

No- he _could_ see something. Thin outlines of bluish light that bent around humanoid shapes, a silvery filter of wavering air akin to what one would see from a heat mirage.

" _Cloaks, off."_

" _Copy."_

One by one, people materialized before his eyes- first came two men, then a simulacrum, and finally a woman, the one who'd initially spoken to him. All of them seemed to be wearing Pilot armor- but more streamlined and advanced.

"I'll make you a deal," she said, stepping closer to him as he cowered in his seat with the case, no weapon to defend himself with. "You hand over that case, and you don't end up like your friends here." She gestured to the bodies of the driver and the riflemen near the car. "Sound good?"

Wordlessly, he handed it over to her with a shaking arm. Taking it from him, she hefted it in a satisfied manner- or at least he thought she was satisfied, he couldn't see her expression behind her helmet. "Alright. Vogel, bind him up and tag him for retrieval. You two, secure the other car and see if there's anything else that might be useful.

One of the men stepped forward to grab the lone survivor from the Samson while the other man and simulacrum followed the woman's orders and moved in to investigate the first car.

For her part, she knelt to the ground and placed the case down before opening it. Inspecting its contents, she gave a sigh of relief to see what they'd been looking for; a large, cylindrical vial of apparent nothingness. But if one heavily focused their eyes- or simply had thermal vision installed in their helmet- they'd be able to see the tiny specks of dust-like particles floating around within it, constantly flying about in their containment.

She opened her comlink again, having shut it off before to avoid detection. "Ghost-Actual, this is Ghost One."

" _We're receiving. Do you have the package?"_

"Affirmative. Intel was good- we have the vial. All NH forces are dead, aside from one survivor- no casualties."

New Humanity was nearly dead at this point- but a few stubborn vestiges of its influence remained on the frontier, occasionally rising out of the shadows to wreak what havoc they could. This time, the objective had been to stop a handoff from one group to another. The item of interest- a vial of nanites from Spyglass's original batch, still active and just waiting to multiply. She didn't even want to think of the potential repercussions that could be had if any of these things happened to have even a fragment of the AI's matrix on them …

" _Good work, Ghost One. Mark the package for retrieval, and have your team ready to redeploy within the hour."_

She paused for a moment. "Repeat again, Ghost-Actual … redeploy?"

" _Affirmative. The retrieval team will be coming shortly to evac you and the package off-world."_

"What about the drop-point? We're supposed to-"

" _Another team is handling that. Your team is being sent to investigate a disturbance aboard the FDN Jericho."_

She remembered that ship- it had been assigned to pick up the sensitive cargo she and her team had marked for retrieval on an operation a week ago. "What kind of disturbance?"

" _Classified. The Jericho will fill in the details."_

Abruptly, the connection was cut.

Left alone with her thoughts, she was silent for a moment or two, pondering the implications of what she'd just been told. A disturbance aboard a high-priority frigate, one that was severe enough to render any kind of briefing classified?

She usually had a good feel for these kinds of things … and right now her gut was telling her that things were about to get weird.

 **—** **FDN VESSEL "JERICHO", EN ROUTE TO HARMONY —**

"What exactly am I looking at?"

The scene before her left a lot of questions, many of which just simply didn't have an answer. As such, she was forced to review the few facts she had at the moment.

Just under six hours ago, the _FDN Jericho_ stopped broadcasting with assigned observers on all communication frequencies during a standard transport assignment. Within ten minutes, it had reappeared on sensors and activated its emergency distress beacon.

It appeared that the ship had been completely disabled via unknown means, though the probable culprit was an advanced EMP-like emission. Other FDN ships responded to the call, finding all occupants alive and well, though without any clue as to why their ship had suddenly ceased to function.

That was it. Those were all the facts she had.

Despite the clear lack of anything substantial to go off of, it had fallen to _her team_ to investigate the matter and determine what events had transpired aboard the _Jericho_ during its short blackout. So now she stood before the first officer with the rest of her team standing behind her, waiting to see if he could provide any insight into this investigation.

"Well ma'am," he started, "that's exactly the problem; _nothing_. This is all the cargo we have, and we've cross-checked our inventory- not a thing is out of place. All salvage and other items are accounted for."

"What did your sensors say during the outage?"

"They were nonfunctional, ma'am."

She sighed frustratedly. "You could almost believe that nobody was here." She waved her hand once in a circle, and the rest of her team began sweeping the area for anything out of the ordinary.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? There's evidence someone _was_ here?"

She shook her head. "No, and that's precisely it- there's no sign at all that anyone entered this area, so whoever _did_ enter is obviously well-trained in stealth and espionage."

"I … don't follow."

She patiently explained her thought process to him like a mother would to her child. "No matter the outcome, there had to be a reason for your ship being disabled. As it wasn't something you did yourselves, that only leaves an external entity as the source of the disruption. If you were a random civilian ship, maybe I'd say otherwise- that the reason for your blackout was your attacker merely conducting a test of the evidently advanced EMP they've developed."

She shook her head. "But your mission was far from low-priority, and your cargo even more so. In my line of work, I've found it's safer to assume that there's no such thing as coincidences."

The hangar bay was full of trophies from that raid she and her team had pulled off against a New Humanity compound- spectre and stalker bodies, hard drives and retrievable memory banks, cortexes of destroyed simulacrums, and other evidence that would need to be kept from the public eye. If any of this had gone missing, the results could have been disastrous.

 _So why attack a ship that you don't intend to steal from?_

"Lieutenant!"

She turned towards the direction of the team member who'd called out to her. Her eyes fixated on Husher, his bright blue optic illuminating the poor lighting of the hangar as he waved her over. Following the simulacrum's request, she walked over to where he was.

"Found something?"

"Maybe," he muttered, "I'm not sure. Don't know what it means, but I was scanning for temperature abnormalities in the room- and I found this."

He pointed out a small section of the floor near the center of the room. At first, she saw nothing- then her HUD highlighted a minute discrepancy in the smoothness of the metal.

In the floor, the letters 'V' and 'I' had been emblazoned sharply and clearly with some kind of heating tool. They were no larger than an inch or so in width and length, almost unnoticeable had someone not been actively looking for them.

It was at times like these that she was grateful he was part of the team- he'd been trained to noticed things exactly like this, tiny details that would elude anyone else.

He looked at her. "Could they be initials? A calling card of some kind?"

"That's one plausible theory," she murmured, bending down to look more closely. "But with the lack of separation and how they're positioned, I'd wager it's the roman numeral for 'six'."

"Six? So then what are we dealing with here? A countdown?"

"Could be," she mused. "Could be any number of things. Depends on if any other ships get hit like this one."

"You think there will be other incidents?"

She sighed, standing up with a hint of resignation in her tone. "With everything I've experienced … I like to hope for the best, but it's generally safer to prepare for the worst. Tell Vogel and Danvers to pack it up and head back to the ship, we've got a briefing to prepare."

"You got it, Gray."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I never advertised this as much on here, but I have a discord server for those who enjoy my content!**_

 _ **If you want updates the moment a chapter goes live, previews of chapters before they get posted, ARG's for stories that have real rewards when you solve them, and conversations with other members who love these stories like you do, feel free to join using the link below!**_

 _discord . gg / 6nwfXCj_

 _ **Just remove those spaces, put it in the URL bar, and you should be good to go! Hope to see you there.**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	3. The Prodigal

— **FDN VESSEL "PRODIGAL", FOUR YEARS LATER, PRESENT DAY —**

"I've heard about this happening on the frontier- but I never would have thought it'd happen to _us."_

"Nobody ever does. Just keep patrolling- if the rumors are true, then we probably have an unwanted guest aboard by now. I'm not too fond of the idea of meeting them."

As the security officers passed by him unknowingly, he couldn't help but smirk as he eavesdropped on their conversation. They were smart not to want to see him- missions like these called for no witnesses, and it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to tie up loose ends if someone managed to catch a glimpse of him.

" _Tune them out. I know your ego is already big enough without some frightened guards inflating it further."_

He rolled his eyes, and stepped out from the shadows of the wall he'd been hugging. "You're just envious that you don't have anyone talking about _you_ like that."

" _Yes, the one thing every girl desires is to be feared by literally everyone,"_ she responded with no small amount of sarcasm over the comms.

"Could have fooled me," he muttered, now switching his focus to the mission and running in the opposite direction of the corridor the guards had gone.

" _This ship's layout is the same as the Iridescence. You'll see the target on your right."_

True to her word, it was another thirty seconds of light jogging before he saw what he was looking for- a door on the right side of the hall with a passcode panel next to it, and a sign above the door reading 'RESTRICTED ACCESS'. Checking his corners to make sure he was alone, he deactivated his cloak and watched as his hands became visible again. Reaching up to his shoulder, he drew his data-knife and pried the top of the panel open just enough to where he could see a small port. Sticking the knife in, he held it there and asked, "You got a connection?"

" _Yeah, I'm in. Give me two seconds …"_

It only took her one and a half to crack the security, but he didn't need to tell her that- despite her chastisement of him for arrogance, she could be just as prideful when she wanted to be. The panel's screen seemed to be at war with itself, flashing quickly between 'ACCEPTED' and 'ERROR', but the door unlocked nonetheless.

Retrieving his knife and sliding the door open, he entered to find what he'd been looking for; the Frontier Defense Network's most recent trove of treasures.

Walking past a nanite capsule from Spyglass's Coalescence, several New Humanity spectres, and what looked to be a piece of a fold-weapon, he found his true objective- a single computer station near the back of the room.

Grabbing another object from his pouch, he placed it on the floor near his feet and pressed a button on the back of it. A faint whirr could be heard as heat began to emanate from it, and he redirected his attention to the monitor in front of him. It took him less than ten seconds to access its database and find a directory of important documents that the FDN would likely not be happy to have them seen.

"I've got the roster," he muttered, sticking his data-knife into the monitor and waiting for the connection to take hold. "Transferring data now."

A progress bar illuminated on the screen as all the information in the system was slowly copied over to the storage in his knife. He'd have to sort through it all later, of course, but he'd find what he needed eventually. All that mattered now was making sure they got everything the system had to offer, and making his way off of-

" _Oh, hell."_

He furrowed his brow, observing the steady ascent of the transfer. "What? What's, 'oh hell'?"

" _The ship's system has a dead-man's switch kind of mechanism in place- the moment their sensors went down, a signal was sent to nearby FDN forces. They're jumping to our location now; estimated arrival is forty seconds. Get out of there!"_

 _Shit._

"I'll be right there, the transfer's almost complete," he assured her, reaching down to his feet and picking back up the device he'd set down earlier.

" _Forget the transfer, ETA is thirty seconds before our window expires-"_

"What have I told you about timers, Ellie?" he muttered, reactivating his cloak and preparing to run. "They throw me off-"

" _Six, our whole partnership hinges on mutual trust for the other to do their job. So when I say you have less than thirty seconds left, it means you have less than thirty fucking seconds."_

"Point taken," he replied, watching the progress of the data transfer climb. "But that goes both ways- so if I say I'll be gone in ten-"

" _Look, just saying you'll be 'gone in ten' doesn't make me worry about you any less."_

"So you _do_ care," he quipped to her, his tone becoming snarky and obnoxiously sarcastic as it did when he became annoyed with her.

" _Of course I care. If you die on my watch, my reputation would take a sharp dive. Not to mention I'd probably be decommissioned."_

At last, the progress bar became full and indicated a complete transference. Without time to waste, he yanked the knife out of the terminal and began sprinting out of the room. Taking a left in the hallway, he followed the projected schematics of the ship in his HUD towards the navpoint Ellie had given him for extraction.

" _Twelve seconds."_

"On my mark, blow a hole in the side of section 17A," he ordered.

He didn't so much count as he _felt_ the seconds go by. He'd been doing this for so long, timing had become second nature to him. Instinctually, he felt them pass through his mind like little specks of sand- tiny, almost imperceptible things if you weren't aware of their presence.

"… _Mark!"_

There was less than a second delay from his callout to her response. Almost instantaneously, the wall one meter in front of him exploded into fire before quickly becoming extinguished as the oxygen was sucked out into the void of space.

He made sure to jump to avoid colliding with the edges of the newfound hole in the ship, and allowed himself to be pulled out into the vacuum as well. He curled up into a ball, but couldn't help himself as he turned to watch the ship slowly shrinking in the distance behind him. Another, larger ship suddenly warped into being above it, and began making preparations to board as they attempted to help evacuate the occupants of the disabled vessel he'd just decompressed.

" _That was too close. The whole point of these operations is to remain unseen, Six. The moment anyone catches wind of us, the show's over."_

"Yeah, yeah," he dismissed her chiding as he continued to spin out in the blackness. Reaching down to his forearm, he activated his recovery beacon. "Now come get me. It's getting cold out here."

" _I ought to just let you float for a while,"_ she snapped at him. _"Maybe it'd teach you to have a bit more appreciation for me."_

"You could," he replied, feigning thoughtfulness. "But I don't think _he'd_ be so fond of that idea. You know he always sees things from my point of view."

He heard her sigh on the other end, and instantly regretted bringing up their mutual benefactor. She would not be happy with him for a while.

" _Yeah. The Advocate does tend to play favorites, doesn't he?"_

— **FDN VESSEL, "CASCADE OF SPIRITS", THREE HOURS LATER —**

" _Six years since Spyglass fell. Four years since these attacks started happening … and still,_ _ **nothing**_ _."_

"I understand your concerns, sir," Gray said with gritted teeth. The rest of her team stood behind her as they watched her speak with a holographic model of Ghost-Actual, their commanding officer … Kuben Blisk.

" _My concerns aren't as important as those of our ship captains,"_ he dismissed, waving his arm at her. _"They're terrified, thinking that each of them will be next. The Iridescence, the Montoya, the Byzantine … fourteen ships over four years. This needs to end, and_ _ **fast**_ _."_

She wasn't really fond of the man, considering his history- but one couldn't argue the fact that his experience as a leader of a feared mercenary group made him perfectly qualified to run a team of highly trained elite operatives.

"I couldn't agree more, commander," she said, nodding her head. "Our new plan that may help with that, and the new intelligence unit we've been granted should help us coordinate it."

" _I hope so,"_ he replied, crossing his arms. _"What did we learn from the Prodigal?"_

"Our automated distress response system worked flawlessly when the intruder," she relayed, bringing up a list of notes she'd written down on a data-pad. "The only issue was that whoever attacked the ship escaped before help arrived. Then, their efforts were focused on evacuating the _Prodigal's_ crew due to decompression from a hole which was, I assume, created by the infiltrator. No casualties, though they are rather shaken up."

" _That's something we can use,"_ Blisk commended, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. _"What else?"_

"Whoever it is won't kill anyone if they don't have to," she continued, scrolling down. "All fatalities sustained in these kinds of incidents are crew members who are present in the attacker's targeted section- usually the cargo bay or areas with restricted access. Keeping people away from there seems to do the trick- unfortunately, it's not really a viable solution to the problem when we're letting the enemy get away with valuable intel."

" _On that, we can both agree,"_ he muttered. _"Continue."_

"Still no sign of anything actually taken," she said, looking down at the pad in her hands. "The ship's inventory was untouched, just like all the others. Whatever they're after, it's not physical; more than likely it's some kind of data from the ship's manifest, but _what-_ we don't know."

He nodded understandingly. _"Not a lot of info to go on- but your team is doing a fine job. I don't mean to sound like I doubt your abilities; I know you all are doing everything you can. This whole situation is simply frustrating."_ He sighed. _"You've told me about this plan- it's risky, but the best plans usually are."_

"You can say that again," she breathed, thinking back to past experiences.

" _Head to the hangar and pick up your new meat- and ask about the surprise I've arranged for you all. Stay safe out there, Ghost. Blisk out."_

Once the holographic likeness fizzled out of existence, she heard a scoff from Vogel behind her. "What a prick."

"A prick he may be," she admitted, "but the FDN thinks he's trustworthy and capable enough for command. He hasn't let us down yet, has he?"

"Not really, but the last four years haven't exactly been peachy either," Danvers muttered, shaking his head. Turning around, she faced her team of 'Ghosts'.

Husher, her second-in-command. He'd been part of the Embers and fought at Regis with them when he was still human, but he was gravely wounded- he'd opted to become a simulacrum instead of confining himself to a bed-ridden life of drip-feeding and sterile hospital rooms. His skills and experience hadn't been lost in the transition, thankfully, and he'd taken advantage of his newfound immortality to put himself in harm's way for the team's sake many a time.

Vogel, their veteran warrior. He was nearing fifty now, but you wouldn't have known it from looking at him- he was practically still in peak physical condition. He'd been fighting since the first Titan wars, a dedicated IMC soldier to boot. That wasn't to say it was blind loyalty, however- he'd become disillusioned with their cause after learning of Marder's attempts to use the fold-weapon against the Militia, and temporarily retired before rejoining the fight against Spyglass. Regardless of his past, he'd more than proven himself to be worthy of a place on the team.

Danvers, their scout and designated marksman. It had actually been Dean Fallon, her former teammate and friend, who had overseen the last stages of his training. Consistently outperforming every other candidate in his class, he'd been recommended for her team. She could count on one hand all the times he'd ever missed a shot in her five years of knowing him, and there was no one better to provide cover for the team than him when he had a vantage point.

They weren't her old team, that was for sure- she didn't think anyone could ever replace the familiar faces; Gates, Davis, Vale, Buck, Rose, Fallon … and Four. But they weren't meant to be a replacement- she'd come to rely on these three more times than she could remember, and they hadn't ever disappointed her. When push came to shove, she knew that they'd have her back.

"Be that as it may, we've got a job to do," she declared, effectively shutting down the conversation. "So focus up- and let's go meet our new team member."

"Ugh," murmured Husher as they all turned to leave the room and head towards the hangar bay. "You know I hate it when you call it that."

"I have to admit," Danvers chuckled, sidling alongside Husher as they walked, "I find it ironic that the simulacrum refuses to acknowledge AI's as living things."

"It's not a team member, it's an intelligence unit," he argued, waving his hands animatedly as he spoke. "I came from a real, living body- AI's aren't born, they're made. I just don't see how they can be seen as human. Look at what Spyglass did when we let him have the reigns!"

"And think of all the Titans that fought against him and died so we didn't have to," Vogel reminded him, scratching a patch of his beard absentmindedly. "You can't list only the negatives- you have to look at the issue from an objective point of view."

Husher shook his head in disbelief. "Fine- call it whatever you want, just don't expect me to be friends with it."

Gray understood his mix of fear and revulsion of AI's- many people nowadays had a similar attitude thanks to Spyglass's years of tyranny over the frontier. But she couldn't sympathize with it; she had a Titan of her own, she knew how it felt to be linked to another mind- and she could say without a shadow of a doubt that AI's were every bit as alive as humans were.

Many people credited Four with saving the galaxy, revering him as a hero- but they often conveniently forget about KT in the process. Such was the unfortunate way that attitudes shaped history, she supposed with some regret staining her thoughts.

The unit they were picking up was one of a new line of artificial intelligences that were being designed for use by the Frontier Defense Network, the governing body that Vale had helped establish and even led for a few years after New Humanity was dissolved. These new, experimental AI's were meant to assist the FDN with various tasks- law enforcement, strategic advisory, and- in their case- special tactics and reconnaissance.

Created from a similar process used to make AI's for the older generation of Titans, the things had damn near infinite utility- the ability to compute thousands of equations and algorithms in a matter of seconds, simulate mental combat scenarios and make split decisions, basically everything a Titan could do and more. The key part was that their chassises weren't like Titans'; they were actually somewhere between five and six feet tall, no taller than the average human.

Gray had seen one once or twice- they kind of reminded her of simulacrums, or Kay's white body when she'd been fragmented. They weren't made for intense combat like Titans were, but rather for day-to-day tasks with teams that could psychologically bond with them easier than they would a forty-ton tank with legs.

As it turned out, however, people weren't all too keen to trust them. Their purpose probably reminded the citizens of the frontier too much of Spyglass's spectres and stalkers. That association coupled with the general anti-AI sentiment produced an public opinion which the new AI's were finding tough to adapt to.

 _Hopefully,_ Gray thought as they entered the hangar and strode towards a ship at the far end, _this one's contributions will go a ways towards helping people see that AI's aren't inherently evil._

The Ghosts' operations were classified for the most part- but it wouldn't be too big of a deal to let the public know that one of the FDN's new top of the line AI's was helping a high-priority team with protecting the frontier's citizens. Maybe that kind of information would be enough to turn the hatred around.

As they approached the ship which their HUD's had marked as the vessel carrying their new toy, the four of them couldn't help but make out small gasps of awe as they took in more and more details; it was a corvette class ship, its body sleek and angular while its sides curved out into wing-like extensions and stretched backwards toward the engines of the ship. Gray had never really seen anything like it, but she was glad to be doing so now; it was a beautiful ship.

The back of it lowered into a large ramp, much like a standard dropship's- but scaled up, way up. A few crew members were unloading cargo from the ship, wheeling it down to the floor below and heading back up the ramp to retrieve more.

"Are you the Ghosts?"

They all looked around to see an officer approaching them, a captain's insignia on their uniform. Each of them saluted, and remained at attention until he waved them away with a dismissive hand and an, "At ease."

"That's us, sir," Gray answered. "Is this your ship?"

"No- it's actually funny that you should ask, though we'll get to that in a moment," he replied. "Presently, I have the first of two deliveries to give you." He gestured towards the top of the ramp, and they all followed his movement. Nothing happened for a moment- then, they watched as a metallic figure strode out onto the ramp, and descended to meet them.

Its body and height were proportionate to that of a human, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended. Its limbs were covered in plasteel, most of it a dark grey coloration- though it did have some white and maroon parts of its casing near its neck, elbows, knees and thighs. On the end of its legs were 'feet'; two small metal pieces, one acting as the ball and the other as the heel. At the tips of each were two claw-like white toes that stuck out of the sides and angled forward to balance it in the place of tendons and a foot arch.

Overall, its surface was rather curved and smooth- totally not what most simulacrums would look like, what with their boxy components and rigid hardware. That trait extended to its face, which was essentially a large, smooth LED screen. Illuminated upon it were two small white orbs, apparently what it was projecting as its 'eyes'. To top it all off, its body was distinctly feminine- its hips, chest, and lower legs followed a curvature that couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

At a distance, Gray might have mistaken it for a Pilot in full combat gear- she could see what the FDN had gone for, trying to incorporate human traits into its frame to make it more appealing to the eye. But psychological association or not, it wasn't going to get her stamp of approval until it proved it could perform the job expected of it.

Finally, it reached the bottom of the ramp and approached them. Upon doing so, it raised an arm in greeting and its eyes turned into half-circles with the curve on top, giving it somewhat of an 'enthusiastic' expression. "Hello! I am an Ancillary Virtual Assistant, assigned to your team by the order of Commander Blisk. I am at your disposal, Lieutenant Gray."

Now she was beginning to side with Husher a bit more. Even the voice was feminine, lively and full of excitement- it was bringing up some painful memories of KT and her alternate personality, Artemis … the one that had nearly killed her on a few occasions.

Beside her, Husher was having no part of it. "Disposal is right- you ask me, we should just trash the damn thing, Blisk's orders or not."

"I would prefer that you didn't," the captain said, coughing into his hand. "I spent a good deal of time transporting her here, I'd rather not to have that effort wasted."

The android raised a hand. "I would also prefer not to be destroyed, if at all possible."

The four of them stared at it- _her_ , apparently- in silence. The fact that it hadn't even realized it had made a small sort of joke just made the situation even funnier, and Gray found herself cracking a smile in spite of Husher's evident discomfort. Danvers seemed to be chuckling _because_ of the simulacrum's discomfort.

"She's got a wicked sense of humor, I'll grant her that."

One of the AI's half-moon eyes inverted itself, making her look inquisitive with a raised eyebrow and squinted eye. "Have I said something wrong?"

"No, no you're fine," Gray chortled, stepping forward before Danvers continued to egg Husher on. "We're just not used to AI's in your form- we're more familiar with the Titan variety."

"Oh, of course!" she responded, bowing her head apologetically. "I did not mean to cause alarm or unease amongst you."

"Again, it's fine," Gray replied. "Do you have a name?"

"My serial number is AVA_000137742-"

"Okay, okay- way too many numbers," Vogel interrupted, cutting the droid off mid-sentence. "We're going to need something a lot shorter than that to address you."

"Just use its given acronym and be done with it," Husher muttered, crossing his arms. "No need to spend forever on-"

"AVA … so, Ava?"

"… Wait, no- don't actually-"

"Too late!" Danvers exclaimed, pointing a finger at Husher. "You named it, that's what we're going with. Sound good to you, Ava?"

'Ava' turned to Danvers and nodded encouragingly. "I am content with that designation."

Husher groaned, planting his optic in the palm of his metal hand. "Great. Just … great."

Gray extended her hand, allowing Ava to reach out and grab it in her own as they shook. "Good to have you on the team, Ava. If you're half as good as the FDN thinks you are, I'll be happy."

"I aim to please, Lieutenant."

After releasing the AI's hand, Gray looked back to the captain. "Blisk told us about a surprise- you have a second delivery?"

"Right," the captain agreed, turning towards the ship. "There it is."

They stared for a few seconds before Danvers looked at the Captain again in confusion. "Where? In the ship?"

"No- it _is_ the ship."

Now, it was Gray who looked to the captain in consternation. "Wait- what?"

"That's why I thought it was funny that you asked about its ownership. Yes, Commander Blisk requisitioned this for your team- said he'd received it from an anonymous benefactor, and that you all would need it more than him."

The idea of suddenly coming into ownership of a ship like this was slowly sinking into Gray. Shakily, she choked out, "Does it have a name?"

" _Horizon."_

The _Horizon._ She could get behind a name like that.

"Gray," Husher whispered, grabbing her full attention. "I don't mean to sound paranoid- but first the AI, and now a ship? Let alone a ship like _this?_ Do you think that maybe things aren't all that they seem here?"

Anyone else and she would have agreed that they were paranoid- but this was Husher, and she relied on his intuition for exactly this sort of thing. She couldn't respond with much besides a clap on the back as she leaned in close and whispered back, "Just enjoy this while we can- because my bet is that you're right."

Shaking the hand of the captain, she beckoned for her team to follow her as she made her way towards the ramp. "Ghosts, fall in line. We've got places to be, and a trap to set."

* * *

 _ **A/N: How many of you have been here since the original trilogy? Leave a review telling me how you came across this series, and get a shoutout on the next chapter!**_

 ** _On another note, how are you guys liking these characters so far? Probably haven't had a lot of time to warm up to them- Gray's the only returning character (besides Blisk) so far, so it will be interesting to see your guys' thoughts on how these new folks hold up to the old ones._**

 _ **Until the next time,**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	4. Domino Zero

Ellie was generally a master of her emotions- the angrier she was, the quieter she became. It was a necessary practice she'd developed as she worked with Six, lest her frustration with his unorthodox behavior end up jeopardizing a mission. He couldn't exactly fault her for it, but it didn't make him any less apprehensive towards her when she became silent in his company, just as she was now.

"Ellie?"

Above him, he could see the smallest of swivels as she rotated her head to look at him with her 'eyes', two sets of cyan lights situated on the face-plating that formed the front of her 'head'. She looked away just as quickly, continuing to ignore him as her metallic footsteps echoed off the walls. He furrowed his brow.

"C'mon, Ellie-"

"Don't, Six- just don't."

Though others might not have thought it possible, Six found that artificial intelligences were just as capable of sulking as any human. Despite his earlier claim of her emotional mastery, it seemed that even a seven foot-tall experimental Titan chassis was not immune to the occasional moue.

In any case, there wasn't any time to resolve the little spat between them- the pair reached the end of the hallway, and waited for the door before them to allow them access.

Roughly ten seconds passed before it opened, each of its segments sliding into the edges of the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"You may enter."

As the voice invited them in with a warm familiarity, Six couldn't help but let a smirk cross his features. Both he and Ellie accepted the call, slowly walking towards the back of the room where a single occupant stood guarding an ornate throne of white and gold coloration, the color scheme that made up the interior of most of the ship.

The man, wearing an officer's robes of the same palette, gave a stony nod towards him. "You look mighty pleased with yourself."

"That's just his normal expression," Ellie muttered sardonically.

Grabbing his chest, he faked an expression of pain. "You wound me- I'm gonna spend all night thinking about that one." He raised his arms into the air in mock disappointment. "Am I not allowed to simply enjoy the company of a good friend?"

The officer's facade finally broke, and he smiled. "It's good to see you again, Six. How was your last mission?"

"Same as always, Alastor," he drawled in an exaggerated fashion. _"Successful."_

Alastor had been a mentor to him for as long as he could remember- some of his favorite memories as a boy were of the two of them sparring on the holo-deck, different environments and scenarios accompanying their often all-too-close matchups. He could still remember the sweat on his back and brow as he tried to regain his breath every time the older man managed to best him, and the words of his teacher that drove him to do better each consecutive match …

 _You were born into greatness, Six- but victory is something you must earn on your own._

Each and every time, he would get up. Each and every time, he fell again.

Until he didn't.

Now, with his days of training behind him, Alastor fulfilled a different role- that of a friend. He'd been in Six's life longer than most, as very few were permitted to prolong their contact with him. Ellie would have been next, having been working with him for nearly five years now- but even she would be replaced by a newer model at some point, an AI partner more up-to-date with current specifications and requirements for an AI in her position of constant adaptability.

Alastor would never leave him.

Ellie just shook her head in disapprovingly at his answer, and kept her focus on Alastor. The man reached up to scratch at the dark goatee around his mouth, one that grew more strands of silver poking through the black with every passing year. "Is that so?"

Something in the way he said it put Six on guard. He caught a look in Alastor's eye that told him the situation may have been a bit more serious than previously thought, and he immediately changed his tone.

"Yes, the mission was successful. The 'Prodigal' never knew we were aboard until it was too late, and we secured the intel without incident."

"' _Without incident' would not be the most accurate term I would apply, Six."_

 _Damn it._

The new voice emanated from the throne itself, garbled undertones disguising its true sound, and a holographic orb materialized within its seat the moment after it spoke. Immediately, Six and Ellie dropped to a knee in its presence and bowed their heads.

"Of course, sir," Six uttered, facing the floor. "I merely meant to say that-"

" _It matters not that they detected you 'too late'- they should not have been aware of you_ _ **at all.**_ _"_

"I humbly apologize, sir," he began again, but the orb cut him off once more.

" _Groveling does not suit you, Six. And you are not the one whom I expect an apology from."_

Before he could say anything more, Ellie began to speak next to him. "I beg your forgiveness, sir; it would appear that the ship had been prepared for our potential arrival-"

" _You are Six's guardian, LE-2, and he is your ward. That means his safety is not simply your top priority, but your_ _ **only**_ _priority. His life is in your hands on every mission you undertake, and mistakes- like the one you made that very nearly cost you both the mission when your presence was detected in their system- will_ _ **not**_ _be tolerated."_

"I understand, sir-" she tried to say.

" _Your duty is to protect him, even from himself, as was the case with his decision to continue the data transfer. Your choices and failures will speak for the entire future of the NOMAD project, LE-2. Need I have you decommissioned and replaced with a more competent model?"_

"That won't be necessary," Six quickly cut in, speaking in place of Ellie. Out of his peripheral vision, he watched her head turned towards him slightly, as much as it could in their bowing states. "I have been very pleased with LE-2's performance- the decision to stay, and therefore the fault, was mine."

There was silence for a solid five seconds before the orb gave them one final order. _"Rise, both of you."_

They obliged, standing straight and awaiting what came next.

" _With all that being said,"_ the voice acknowledged with a hint of admiration, _"had it not been for Six's choice to complete the transfer, we would not have realized that the FDN has developed countermeasures to your operations- nor that the Prodigal was merely a diversion."_

That last line immediately caught their attention, and their gazes snapped to the orb in surprise.

" _The Prodigal's route was too openly discussed, too obvious a target to ignore. Having analyzed the data of the Prodigal's system logs, I can confirm that it is empty of anything useful- aside from one mote of information; its destination._

" _It would seem that the ship was on a course to Harmony, a detail that would make sense for a ship of its status if it hadn't been so relatively publicized. My sources have already taken the liberty of sending me a copy of the planet's docking manifest, and one name stood out to me … the Cascade of Spirits._

"Why that ship, sir?"

" _I've been setting the board for the last few weeks in preparation for such a moment like this- but time is short. The frigate is en route to Harmony as we speak, and if we wait then the opportunity will be lost. Both of you are to board the ship, take the necessary data, and report back here. Is that understood?"_

"Yes, sir," they said in unison. It was less of an agreement than an acknowledgement of an order, however- no one ever said 'no' to _him._

" _Now, I wish to speak with Six alone. Leave us."_

Wordlessly and without hesitation, Alastor bowed deeply towards the hologram and exited the room. Ellie took one forlorn glance at Six before following suit, her footfalls all too audible in the otherwise quiet ship.

Once the door was closed, the orb emitted a sigh of mixed resignation and disappointment. _"You continue to both impress and frustrate me, Six."_

He winced. "You know that I'm the reason we almost got caught- do you have to be so hard on her?"

" _On_ _ **it**_ _, Six. And yes, I must,"_ the voice iterated. _"LE-2 represents a new step in the advancement of Titan technologies, any miscalculation on its part will reflect badly on the entire line of Nomads, not just itself."_ The orb paused thoughtfully. _"This is the third time that you have rejected the notion of a new AI to assist you- had it not been for your stubbornness, LE-2 would have been decommissioned a year ago."_

"What can I say? I've gotten used to her- _it,"_ he said, correcting himself.

" _Compassion is an admirable trait to have when times are right, Six- but these are not the right times. It will leave you weak. Vulnerable. Open to attack from those who would seek to exploit your emotions. You must learn to shut these feelings off, starting with your partnership with LE-2."_

Six sighed heavily, knowing deep down that he couldn't postpone this argument forever. He wasn't even sure why he bothered trying to keep Ellie from being decommissioned if it was inevitable to begin with … but the thought of simply letting one of his only friends be forcefully retired was one that felt inherently wrong to him.

"Let's get that data first, and then I'll talk about LE-2's condition."

The hologram sighed once more, but seemed to relent. _"Alright. You and LE-2 may now take your leave."_

"Thank you, my Advocate," Six intoned, bowing deeply. "Primus inter pares."

" _Primus inter pares."_

With that, the hologram faded out of sight, and he was left alone in the room.

...

After informing Alastor of the Advocate's command, the two shook hands and bid each other farewell. Six knew that his friend would love to accompany him on all of his fieldwork; but he was one of the Advocate's inner circle, potentially their closest confidant- both of them knew that Alastor would always put the Advocate before all other priorities.

As he and Ellie marched through the halls once more on their way to the hangar bay, he chanced a glance at her. Her stance was less aggressive now, yes- but she was still tense. He gave a small hum of thought, hoping to break the icy air and lead into conversation.

"Well … that could have been worse."

"It also could have been better," she snarked, ever the pessimist. Shaking her head, she murmured, "Typical …"

He tilted his head cautiously in her direction. "What's typical?"

"How everything played out," she replied, zeroing her gaze in on him. "All of the praise, none of the punishment. It's just par for the course at this point- you screw up, I get blamed for it … the usual."

He tried again. "If you're still mad about the mission-"

"You know damn well that it's not about the mission," she muttered, though her synthetic voice certainly still carried some anger in its tone.

He narrowed his eyes at her response. She may have been a seven-foot tall exosuit, but if she was expecting to intimidate him into apologizing, she'd be sorely disappointed.

"I'm not going to say, 'I'm sorry', just because he favors me-"

She turned on a dime towards him, quite the impressive movement for someone of her size and composition. "I'm not asking you, nor will I _ever_ ask you, to apologize for anything- especially not for something as petty as that. You're no more responsible for his biases and your status than I am responsible for being an AI."

In her current position, she towered over him threateningly. Anyone who didn't personally know her would likely have either fled or attempted- and failed- to attack her. Instead, he merely stood his ground and raised an eyebrow. "Then what exactly _do_ you want from me?"

Stepping away from him, she began to walk away from him and towards the hangar again. "I'm not pissed that you won't apologize- I'm pissed that you don't know why you should."

That threw him for a loop. "And why's that, then?" he called out, throwing his arms up frustratedly. Did she expect him to be some kind of mind-reader?

She turned back once last time, the blue of her optics shining in contrast to the white and gold of her armor plating. "I'm not making it easy for you. When you figure it out, then you let me know."

With that, she disappeared around the corner.

He sighed, following after her in consternation. He didn't have time to deal with this right now, the mission wouldn't be delayed because of his _equipment_ having a breakdown.

They just had to finish this assignment, and then they could talk things over. Everything would go back to normal … just one routine operation.

Nothing was going to change between them, he'd make sure of it.

* * *

 **A/N:** **So, apparently Titanfall 3's been confirmed via some job listings. Not sure that I'll write a ton more of this until we get a teaser or something ... but we'll see.**

 **Be sure to comment/leave a review for a shoutout on the next chapter!**

 ** _ItsJustMe244 says ..._**

 _First came across the trilogy looking for Titanfall fanfics. Sorted by "Most Favorited" and wow, yours was on top lol. I gave it a read and it was fantastic, and you probably know the rest._

 _As for this chapter: Lots of food for thought here. Not much for me to ponder on just yet, not enough revelations. Looking forward to seeing it unfold._

 _I anxiously await the next chapter!_

 ** _Thanks for the review, IJM! Happy to know that there have been people from the original trilogy still following this story._**

 ** _MarineRaider77 says ..._**

 _I accidentally posted my review without finishing but I wanted to also say that I found your story halfway through Inferno when there was not many Titanfall stories continued so when I found this is I never expected it to be fucking awesome, I'm glad I stuck around with this story._

 _ **Glad you stuck around as well, MR77! I never thought I'd get this far, but much of it is due to support from you guys!**_

 _ **HeliumFilaments says ...**_

 _I started reading the architect series back in early summer of 2017. I found it by accident, and ended up writing a terrible short with TobyKay (that Matt liked for some reason.) I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know this author very well and reading his works have been just as sublime. Six is no exception._

 _Matt- I'm very proud of you and how far you've come. There's been a lot of stuff you'd had to go through these past years and you've handled it like a champ and came out glowing. You are an absolute sweetheart and you have immense talent and a big heart. I'll always be rooting for you, today and tomorrow. Too cheesy? Good_

 ** _Your words humble me, seriously. Thank you._**

 ** _THETA says ..._**

 _In response to your question: I have been here since the original trilogy and how i found it was this._  
 _Since i was bored i looked through titanfall 2 fanfics but most of them had been written back in tf1 and they had old weapons ,old titans and i had come for new futuristic vanguard titans. I was about to give up hope and then i found inferno, i was instantly hooked then i read tempest and after that i couldn't find cinder until an later date._  
 _I quite like the new characters but there is still ONE BURNING QUESTION in my mind._  
 _ARE KT AND TOBIAS ALIVE!_  
 _Sure i understand why writers use cliffhangers but still._  
 _If you avoid the earlier question could you at least tell me whether they will be mentioned at all in this new ghost series._

 ** _KT and Tobias are not the focus of Six, but you will find that their fate and story ties into the Ghost trilogy quite nicely ... I guess the only solution is to keep reading and find out, huh?_**

 _ **Until the next time,**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	5. Kindred Spirits

The interior of the ship elicited the same feeling that the exterior had, Gray found herself thinking; that a ship like this was meant for someone with a much higher pay grade.

The Horizon might have had more than enough room to spare for a _platoon_ , let alone the five of them- being a corvette, she wouldn't be surprised if they could fit a few Titan chassises in the cargo bay.

"Very homey," Husher commented sarcastically under his breath, looking around the ship in suspicion. He had a hard time believing that anything ever went his way, so she could understand why he was so apprehensive about the sudden acquisition of both a new Ancillary AI unit and this beautiful ship- Gray would have been lying if she didn't share those same feelings, to a degree.

"Can't you take ten seconds to just appreciate how _great_ this is?" Danvers chided him, going for the complete opposite reaction that Gray was having. "We actually have a ship of our own- and a damn good one!"

"While I can understand being enthusiastic about this," Vogel murmured to Danvers, a conflicted expression on his face, "I think that Husher may not be wrong to have reservations."

The younger operative just rolled his eyes and leaned against a wall. "Alright, alright. I will concede that all of this does feel a bit … _fast_. Maybe even _convenient_.But let me just bask in this single moment where we're not crawling a mile through some backwater world's swamp or something- we don't ever get enough time to relax."

"Comes with the job, Danvers," Gray replied with a smirk, "but I think you're right in saying that we should enjoy the moment." Turning towards Husher, she tilted her head. "I think it's time we discussed that plan of ours."

Answering with a quick nod, he faced Ava. "Hey, tin-can- retract the ramp and seal us in."

If she felt any personal offense for being called 'tin-can', the AI didn't show it. "Of course, sir."

Walking through a door towards the loading bay of the ship, it was a minute before they heard the whirr of machinery as the ramp lifted up from the hangar floor, and rose to seal the ship's interior. There was a momentary bout of silence before she returned, stepping through the doorway and into view once more.

"The ship is now sealed, sir."

Gray looked at Husher. "Anything out of the ordinary so far?"

"I haven't picked up any hidden microphones or cameras yet, if that's what you're asking," he begrudgingly admitted. "Doesn't mean they aren't here, necessarily, could just mean they're well hidden."

"I trust your judgement," she answered, stepping into the center of the room. "So now, let's go over the plan."

"Still can't believe that they actually took the bait," Husher chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Danvers glanced at him in slight confusion.

"Bait? What bait?"

"Sorry, it was on a need-to-know basis," she began apologetically, "Husher and I were the only ones Blisk told."

Now Vogel's interest had been piqued as well. "What was it he told you?"

"The _Prodigal_ was just a decoy," the simulacrum snickered gleefully. "We wanted to test our automated distress response system against the infiltrator without giving them anything useful- hence why we filled up the cargo bay with stuff they've never taken before, and made sure the data manifest was pretty much empty."

Danvers raised an eyebrow. "So there was never any secret haul-away?"

"No, there was; we just needed to buy time for the frigate to actually make it to its destination this time, so we sent them on a little goose chase while the real cleanup was carried out in secret, and is now on its merry way to Harmony- _without_ the fear of being boarded by some unknown assailant."

"Which frigate?"

Gray crossed her arms with a grin. "You're on it."

Vogel's eyes widened. "The _Cascade of Spirits?"_

"The very same."

"Once we were done investigating the _Prodigal,_ we were sent here for our 'debriefing' with Blisk- it's pretty much just a cover so that we can watch over the ship away from prying eyes," Husher explained.

"So, now that we've gotten that cleared up," Gray continued, "back to the plan; taking down this bastard."

Danvers whistled. "So one moment, we're avoiding them at all costs- the next, we're actively trying to trap them? I can't wait to hear this."

"The plan has always been to get them," she said contradictorily. "We just haven't had much of an opportunity to. Next time a ship goes silent, we'll already be hiding on it and waiting to strike. The ADR system will alert all observing teams, and we'll be onboard trying to capture the infiltrator."

"Capture?" Vogel asked curiously. "Not kill?"

"If you have to, eliminate them- but capturing them will give us a chance to interrogate them, maybe better understand their motivations and capabilities. Whoever's behind this can't just be a one-man team."

Danvers nodded. "Makes sense- but how are we going to go about accomplishing it?"

Gray pointed a finger at Ava. _"Her."_

The Ancillary unit bowed slightly. "I am happy to assist, Lieutenant- but I must admit, I am not sure how useful I would be for an operation such as this."

Husher scoffed. "Not even the start of her first assignment, and the thing's already telling you it can't do it. Typical."

Gray ignored him. "I'm not asking you to fight them- we'll take care of that. But you're specifically designed for special tactics and recon- you're inherently better at certain tasks than we are, most notably in the real-time strategy and systemic manipulation departments."

Danvers' eyes widened. "Do you want to repeat that- but maybe in english, this time?"

"C'mon, Danvers."

"What? I'm a marksman, not a computer scientist."

"It _means,"_ Gray stressed through gritted teeth, "that she will be better at tracking the infiltrator's position than we would be and assisting us in the heat of the moment- she'd have access to our suit systems and the ship's security measures, she can corral them somewhere that we can overwhelm them."

"Overwhelm them?"

"Three of the fatalities attributed to this infiltrator were former Pilots that had extensive hand-to-hand combat training, one of which managed to make it through the assault on Regis- only to die at our target's hands," she said with a hardened expression. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not take my chances in a one-on-one with them."

"Oh, I understand _that,"_ Danvers assured her, holding his hands up submissively. "I didn't mean to question that we approach this whole thing as a team- I meant, are we sure we're going to be _enough?_ Like, what if they're carrying some serious weaponry? I don't know about you, but I don't want to go up against some kind of black-hole gun, or a miniature Titan, or-"

"I'm sorry- _black-hole gun?"_

"You get my point," he said hastily, waving his arm in a dismissive gesture. "The fact of the matter is that whoever's been doing this has been at it for four years now, and not once has someone gotten the upper hand on them. They've got to be expertly trained and well-funded, and usually 'well-funded' equates to 'well-armed'. I mean, just look at _our_ equipment."

"They may have better equipment than we do," Vogel began, stepping away from the wall and clasping a hand onto Danvers' shoulder. "They may even have better training than we do- but they don't have a better _team_ than we do."

Danvers chuckled. "I don't think you could have been sappier if you tried."

"Regardless, he has a point," Gray said, "We've been working together for just as long as our enemy's been targeting ships- I know I can count on all of you to watch my back, just as I'll be watching yours."

"Well said, ma'am-"

Husher was interrupted mid-sentence by silence.

That is to say, there was a very obvious and sudden cessation of noise emanating from the hangar outside the _Horizon._ After a moment, the interior lighting dimmed as well, leaving them in total darkness and quiet.

The hum of the ship's engines, the ambient noise one could hear in the hangar from the shield doors … all of it was gone.

"… What the hell just happened?"

After a moment, two luminous orbs of LED light appeared in the shadows. "It would appear that the ship has experienced a shutdown of most major systems, notably the engines and communications- seemingly the result of a destabilizing electromagnetic pulse."

Nobody said a word for several seconds. Finally, Danvers gave a sigh.

"What was that about them taking the bait, Husher?"

Husher paid the younger operative no mind, inspecting himself for damage. "She's right, equipment is offline- I'm not getting a reading from any of your suits … hang on, how am I still functioning?"

"Both simulacrums and Ancillary units are equipped with moderate EMP precautions similar to Faraday cages," Ava provided, casting beams of light wherever she looked and acting as their primary light source. "As such, we continue to function- but it should be noted that your blackbox memory will not be online at this time, and any death you experience may be permanent until it is operational again."

"Hmmph. Thanks for the good news, bot."

She tilted her head. "That's unusual- while the effect on the frigate and your suit systems is congruent with an electromagnetic discharge, it would appear the underlying cause may differ."

"What do you mean?"

She walked over to Gray. "Normally, such a pulse would create magnetic fields that would damage your equipment's systems- but they appear to simply be suppressed. Same overall function, but varying results mean quite the differential circumstances as to what triggered it. If I may …"

Placing her hand on the lieutenant's shoulder, Gray watched as Ava paused for a moment before feeling some kind of fuzzy sting where her hand made contact. After a moment, Ava released her hand.

"I've jumpstarted your suit using an electrical surge in conjunction with a balanced magnetic charge- that should bring your local ions in line," she explained warmly, stepping back and allowing Gray to admire her handiwork.

She had to admit, she was impressed with the AI's solution- testing out its effectiveness, she activated her cloak and watched as the rest of her body disappeared from view, becoming no more than a slight mirage in the air.

Walking over to Danvers and Vogel, Ava repeated the action and rebooted their systems. The two of them examined themselves, making sure she'd done a thorough job.

"If she keeps performing like this, I propose we add her to the official team roster," Vogel joked, checking out his now functional suit in awe.

"Over my dead body," Husher grumbled.

Ava simply seemed content with the older man's praise. "I am pleased to hear that my assistance has been satisfactory."

"It's gonna have to be more than satisfactory if we're going to make it through this," Gray muttered. "The ADR was only installed on the _Prodigal_ for the sake of testing- the _Cascade_ hasn't had that same precaution made available yet."

The room seemed to become a bit colder to the other occupants. "You mean …?"

Gray grimaced. "We're on our own."

Husher became all-business, and turned to Ava. "Are you able to access the ship's security from here?"

"One moment, please." She paused as she began to assess the viability of various networks. "Internal radar, nonfunctional. Security cameras, nonfunctional. Shield doors … operating at four percent capacity. Automated defenses, nonfunctional. Thermal sensors …"

She perked up. "Thermal sensors are online, and reporting temperature every fifteen seconds."

"How does that help us?"

"I can access all sections of the ship and monitor temperature fluctuations," she explained. "Most of the ship is holding at a constant twenty-two degrees celsius, with exceptions for the engine rooms, hangar, and minimal margins of change due to the heat output of occupants in each compartment. However, approximately one minute and twenty seconds into the blackout, there was a fluctuation of nearly a full degree that was recorded near maintenance tunnel 34-D."

"A full degree?"

Ava nodded. "It's likely that the equipment they're using may be similar to your own; when your cloaks are active, they generate a substantial amount of heat- more than enough to risk detection from thermal imaging or sensors."

"The airlocks," Vogel breathed. "They're getting in through the shafts that the engineers use for space-walks."

"That fluctuation has since moved on from 34-D, and is steadily approaching the 'restricted access' compartment of the ship."

Gray's eyes widened. "All of our physical salvage is in the cargo bay, this proves that they're after the data we recorded on it!"

She reflected on everything that had led to this point- fourteen ships over the course of four years, fourteen cases that had gone cold. The only thing they ever had in common was that damn engraving, always waiting for them …

VI.

Whether 'six' was an identifier, a coordinate, some religious obsession, she didn't know. But they were about to find out.

Facing Ava again, she asked, "Are you able to connect with our suit systems if we leave the _Horizon?"_

Ava cocked her head again, an expression that was becoming familiar to the operative. "Yes, though I must warn you that there will be a zero point two second delay from the information I receive to when I can relay it back to you-"

"That's more than acceptable for me," Gray cut her off, looking back towards the rest of the team and flashing a wolf's grin.

"Let's go. It's time to show our guest that they're not the only ghosts on this ship."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Things are about to get REAL interesting in the next chapter ...**_

 _ **MarineRaider77 says ...**_

 _Yes, you updated mate, I was wondering is there gonna be scene somewhere in the Ghost's trilogy where both Tobias and Six give a fuck you type gesture to the Advocate for messing with their lives so much or even Six himself giving that type of gesture then killing the Advocate all spectacular Matteoarts action style._

 ** _I don't really want to give away spoilers, but I'll tell you that there will definitely be a plethora of that classic action in this story alone. Thanks for reading!_**

 ** _GenesisRazor says ..._**

 _Oooooh, I nearly cried when the original trilogy ended, and now that there's a chance that that beautiful couple could be alive!? I'm so happy!_

 ** _Again, no spoilers- but what happened to them WILL be answered in this story. You guys are just going to have to wait to see what it is ..._**

 _ **Until the next time,**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	6. Wraith Hunt

" _Alert- riflemen approaching on your left."_

Heeding Ellie's warning, Six backed up against the wall and hugged it. With the ship's interior lighting now offline, neither of the two grunts noticed the faint shimmer in the air where he stood.

Once he was sure they had passed, he left the shadows once more and continued stealthily making his way towards the objective. Checking his corners, he ensured that no other soldiers were approaching before darting down the hallway and to another junction that would take him closer.

" _Be aware, this frigate is larger than most of the ships we've raided before- there's an increased presence of enemy units aboard. If you're detected, I'm not sure how you'll be able to fight your way out on your own."_

"You leave that to me," he muttered, entering a light jog to keep his footsteps from becoming too audible in the quiet corridors. "Besides, you heard our benefactor- we should never be detected in the first place."

" _Now it's 'we', is it?"_

"Well, I figure you contributed equally to our premature evacuation from the _Prodigal_ for not sensing the dead-man's switch sooner," he breathed, "so yes, 'we'. Speaking of which, we haven't triggered anything like that again, have we?"

" _No, most of their systems are almost entirely inoperable,"_ she replied, _"but I won't know for certain if there's one installed until I get into the mainframe."_ She paused for a moment. _"You seemed willing to shoulder the blame before. What changed?"_

"Nothing changed- but at the time, you were in a far more dangerous position. To him, you're expendable- I'm not."

" _Yeah, it certainly seems that way."_ She was silent for a moment, then seemed to realize what he'd just said. _"Wait, hold on- are you saying that you were trying to protect me?"_

"That's one way of looking at it," he murmured, reaching the end of the corridor. Checking the schematics overlay on his HUD, he took a left that would lead him deeper into the heart of the ship.

" _That's a change of pace from usual- I wouldn't have thought you considered me worth the effort."_

Normally, this was the part where he'd make a light quip back to her, carry on with the jests that they often found themselves making towards one another- but not this time.

 _Compassion is an admirable trait to have when times are right, Six- but these are not the right times._

He furrowed his brow, thinking how best to carefully phrase his answer. "Despite what some techies might say, I don't feel that replacing you with a new AI would increase the effectiveness of these operations."

" _I'm well aware that he wants to replace me, Six."_

He'd been hoping to avoid that particular piece of information, knowing she wouldn't be thrilled at the notion- indeed, her tone certainly didn't convey any sort of enjoyment. But it was said less bitterly, and more like she had come to terms with it- or at least had become resigned to it.

" _I'm less interested in why he wants to replace me, and more interested in why you_ _ **don't**_ _,"_ she continued. _"I'm the second iteration of the NOMAD project, and obviously inferior to the newer models-"_

"You're not inferior," he found himself saying, cursing himself after the fact.

 _It will leave you weak. Vulnerable. Open to attack from those who would seek to exploit your emotions._

" _The current prototype is LE-5, isn't it?"_

He'd met the aforementioned 'LE-5' a few times- each of which, she'd been quite cordial and had expressed great enthusiasm in taking over as Six's partner. He had reciprocated no such enthusiasm.

"That's right," he grunted, reaching a four-way intersection, "but I'm not really interested." Consulting with the map again, he turned right and began to final stretch of his journey- he was now in the center of the ship, and quickly approaching the restricted area of the ship- no one without proper clearance was supposed to be in this sector.

" _And why not? She's quicker than me, stronger than me- and don't forget that I'm older and outdated, practically obsolete compared to her-"_

"That's precisely it, Ellie," he said, "you're older- that means you have experience in matters the others don't."

" _What kind of matters?"_

"The kind of matters that require trust in your partner to watch your back."

" _Is that all?"_ she asked, feigning innocence. _"I thought it was because you realized that maybe you care about me more than you'd like to admit."_

He knew what she was getting at, but he couldn't let himself give in. His lessons, his training, everything that the Advocate said … if he ever wanted to amount to anything, he had to start listening to the one who knew what it meant to wield power.

 _You must learn to shut these feelings off, starting with your partnership with LE-2._

He gritted his teeth for what he knew was about to follow.

"Then you thought wrong."

There was silence on the other end of the comms. _"… What?"_

"I choose to work with you because you're _predictable-_ I have no guarantee that any of the newer models would perform as well as you have, and I'm not going to jeopardize any mission I undertake until I do."

His mouth was speaking before he could even formulate a proper thought at his point- and there was no stopping it now. "You are my _equipment_ , Ellie; and I need my equipment to be reliable. If you thought there was anything more, you were mistaken."

He hadn't even noticed the rising warmth in her voice during their conversation until it was gone, replaced now by cold indifference and a clipped tone. _"I see. I guess it was out of line for me to think of you as a friend. I forgot that you're Six- the great prodigy of the Advocate."_

"Ellie-"

" _You're too big for something as small as that."_

He'd thought it would be easier to endure if he just kept going, just kept speaking- but he was wrong. He hated every word that had left his mouth, despised the say they felt as they passed his lips- but he understood the necessity that drove them.

Opting not to press the issue, he remained silent until he eventually reached the end of the corridor. Coming up to a large door with a keypad next to it, he pulled out his data-knife in preparation for Ellie to hack it remotely- but to his surprise, he found that it was flashing an 'ACCESS GRANTED' message on its screen.

"It's unlocked?"

" _The shield doors are among the few systems still working, and only at four percent capacity,"_ Ellie began to theorize, _"It's possible that the pulse rebooted the whole system, left it wide open."_

"Lucky me," he whispered, narrowing his eyes. Checking his HUD to ensure his suit's cloak would remain active, he approached the door and waited cautiously for it to slide up into the ceiling and reveal the interior of the room …

There was no one there.

Sighing with relief, he stepped forward into the room and walked past several glass containers of what appeared to be large, metallic fragments. He recognized the overall shape and appearance of them- more shards of Spyglass's fold weapon.

Thankfully, he wouldn't have to go about stealing any of them; he wasn't here for that, not exactly anyway. Walking past them to the back of the room where a single computer terminal waited patiently, he started it up and stuck his data-knife in a corresponding slot.

"Alright, Ellie- time to get to work."

" _I'm not seeing anything like the alarm system the Prodigal was equipped with … we should be in the clear."_

Trusting her judgement, he retrieved the heat-engraver from its pouch, and bent down to place it on the floor. After a second or two, it glowed orange with power and began its work. "Then start the transfer."

" _One moment … alright, I have access to the main systems. Locating intel … got it. Beginning the transfer now- SIX, BEHIND YOU!"_

He was already moving, ducking low to protect his head and pulling his leg back. When he had completely spun around, his eyes found a target in the form of what looked like a heat mirage- a small waviness in the air- and he kicked out with his foot with the added force of his momentum.

Despite the appearance of empty air, his foot definitely found something solid to slam into, and he heard a gasp of shock and pain as his kick sent his victim flying backwards and presumably into the wall.

"How did you know they were there?" he hissed, preparing himself for a fight.

" _The same way I assume they knew where to find you- the thermal sensors are still online, they're recording fluctuations in the ship's temperature, and cloaking devices give off enough heat to offset that."_

"Well, how offset is the temperature in here? What am I up against?"

As it turned out, he didn't need to wait for an answer- seemingly out of thin air, four entities appeared. One simulacrum, three humans- all of them in attack stances.

One of them stepped forward, a knife in hand, and pointed the blade towards him.

"Boo."

 **—X—**

Gray stood there, her eyes trained on the hazy air a few feet in front of her. Her chest felt like she'd been hit with a brick, but she wasn't about to give their invader the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her.

After a moment or so, they also deactivated their cloak. Becoming visible like them, she saw that they were someone of average, maybe slightly taller than average height. They wore a suit similar to the ones she, Danvers, and Vogel wore- it was a jet-black material with light-bending filaments likely interwoven into the suit itself.

In terms of advancements, however, their infiltrator's suit seemed to be in a league of its own- in place of armor, the material was heavily padded with something that she suspected would be more than capable of stopping a bullet or two. While they still had to wear bulky shoulder pads and other various armor to protect themselves while cloaked, their suit had been slimmed down to fit their form as tightly as possible while still allowing a full range of motion as well as proper protection via the aforementioned padding.

Their helmet had a base attachment to the neck seal of the suit- the rest of it was dark polycarbonate which formed a massive visor spanning the reach of their whole head like a bubble which ended in an angled point near the back. Two white, angled lines of light shone from the front of the visor, the only indication that they were watching the Ghosts.

"I'd prefer to take you in alive," she said lowly, remaining stationary where she stood. The other Ghosts held position as well, allowing her to lead the conversation, but ready to jump in at a moment's notice. "But we won't hesitate to kill you if you give us no choice."

"That's a generous offer," they replied, their voice emitting from their helmet's voice filters. "However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline."

Gray tensed up, hearing the way they spoke to her. She could _feel_ the arrogance radiating off of them, the ego contained in their answer. They didn't see her as a threat- they didn't see _any_ of them as a threat. And if they weren't worried about having been cornered by four highly trained elite Pilots, they were either stupid … or they were adroit enough to warrant such confidence.

"We've been hunting you for a long time," she continued, trying to keep their attention on her while the others ever so slightly widened their circle and began to surround them. "You're a very difficult individual to track down."

"Well congratulations," they said, tilting their head ever so slightly. "It seems you've found what you were looking for."

"Fourteen ships, nine fatalities … and all without leaving a trace of yourself. All except for that one, infernal mark you always leave." She gestured to the tiny device that was busy whirring with heat. "Well, speak of the devil …"

She chuckled ever so slightly, almost in disbelief that this was really happening. "You've earned quite the name for yourself over four years, everyone calls you something different; the Frontier Phantom, the Sixer, the Wraith … that one's my favorite. There all sorts of theories and legends as to who or what you are, making you out to be this untouchable specter, and yet …" She indicated him with the knife. "Here you are- at the end of the day, nothing more than a man."

"I assure you," they whispered, "I'm much more than that."

"You're right, you are- you're a murderer, a spy, and a traitor," she growled. "Comparing you to anything close to 'human' was too kind. Now, kneel down and place your hands behind your head."

They looked at the monitor's screen, checking the progress of the data transfer.

 _87% COMPLETE._

They turned back to Gray, positioning themselves in a manner to protect the computer. "That's not going to happen."

She sighed. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been expecting that."

Without giving them any time to prepare, she brought the knife back and forward again, sending it spinning blade over hilt towards their shoulder in an attempt to disable them. With a speed that she couldn't believe was possible, they sidestepped the knife and let it pass by, mere centimeters from embedding itself in their arm.

As the knife sunk into the wall behind them, they were already preparing for another counterattack. Striking at a random spot of air with their arm, a momentary lapse in Vogel's cloak could be seen as the aggressor's fist connected with his jaw and sent the man crumbling to the floor. They reached for what appeared to be a silenced Wingman in their holster, but their arm was yanked away by an unseen force which sent the gun skittering to the floor.

Reacting quickly to the situation, the Wraith jumped backwards towards the wall and spun, forcing the Ghost on his arm to hit the metal instead of them. Husher was forced to release his grip, falling to the floor where he stirred feebly.

Grabbing Gray's knife from the wall, they dove at another spot of air which yelled out in terror as its assailant attempted to stab them. With a sudden spurt of red, the knife now seemed to float in the air as its victim staggered backwards, still cloaked.

All of this gave Gray the opportunity to leap forward and drive her foot right into the side of their head, sending them reeling backwards.

"Now, Ava!" she shouted, ready to begin the next stage of the plan.

" _Copy that, Lieutenant."_

The Wraith had recovered enough to stand up fully and face her once more. She ran right at them in full visibility, preparing to strike just as they prepared to block it with a counter of their own-

At the last second, she abandoned her charge and rolled out of the way. The assailant tried to pull back their counter, but it had left them too overextended- and Vogel's suddenly de-cloaked fist found its mark right in the Wraith's windpipe.

Gagging from the sudden and immediate pain, their focus was entirely on Vogel now. The veteran feigned another blow, only to disappear at the last second like Gray had.

The Wraith was left bewildered just long enough for a rear attack from Husher, the operative aiming for a blow to the back of their head. Unfortunately, it seemed they'd caught on. Spinning around, they were ready for Husher and instinctively launched their fist forward- only to have the simulacrum catch it easily in his metallic hands and hold it there.

In their position, they could do nothing more than watch as Gray gave the final blow, a cross which connected right where their cheekbone would have been underneath the helmet. Against the gauntleted knuckles of her hand, she heard a crack as the polycarbonate visor broke apart where she had struck it, and the Wraith was sent sprawling to the floor.

In an instant, she heard the signature sound of sidearms being drawn. One by one, her team materialized back into view; Husher and Vogel who both had their sights trained on the man, and Danvers who groaned in pain as he looked at the blade stuck in the meaty part of the muscle right under his collar-bone.

The Wraith, for their part, seemed to realize that the fight was over. Painfully pushing themselves off the floor into a half sitting, half lying down position, they turned back towards the Ghosts silently.

Gray saw the damage her punch had wrought, and felt a great satisfaction in noting that there was now a gaping hole where her fist had made contact, one through which she could see half of their face illuminated by the flashlights on Husher and Vogel's weapons. She could just see their fair-colored skin, the brown hair of their brow, furrowed in anger, and their narrowed eye, their … their eye which stared back at her, glaring at her…

 _Oh my god._

She stood, frozen in shock. The others stood waiting for orders from her to proceed … none came.

Husher glanced at her, finally noticing the stiff rigor of her body. "Ma'am? Are you-"

"Take off his helmet," she whispered.

"What?"

"Bind his hands, and take off his damn helmet!" she ordered. It came out as more of a shrill shriek, but it got the message across.

Their aim never leaving the man on the ground, Vogel and Husher walked over to them and knelt down, binding their wrists together with a set of magnetic cuffs. When they were sure that the cuffs were locked into place, they reached up to undo the seals of the helmet, releasing them with a faint hiss before finally pulling it away from the Wraith's head.

Immediately, they were all greeted with a sight of matted down hair, light brown and ashen in coloration, a combination which was quite familiar to her. They were clean shaven, but she could see the tiny beginnings of stubble growing over his light-toned face- and of course, the piercing, sky-blue eyes that she hadn't seen in years, that she had believed to have been extinguished forever …

And now, they only radiated volumes of hatred for her.

"Holy shit …" Danvers breathed, the pain in his chest forgotten for the moment. Husher and Vogel said nothing, but their body language was screaming with utter shock and confusion on how to proceed.

She swallowed hard. "V-Vogel, Husher … take him to a holding cell, I want to question him within an hour of our arrival. Get Danvers to the infirmary."

They nodded silently, helping the Wraith off his feet and escorting him out of the room- wisely, they continued to keep their weapons pressed against his back. Danvers looked back at Gray one last time, his expression hidden behind his helmet, before following the others out.

She didn't know how long she stood there, petrified- a few seconds, a minute, an hour- for her, time had ceased to affect her. Eventually, she managed to break out of her stupor, and mumbled without feeling into her comlink, "Ava- I need you to secure a line with Commander Blisk, and patch me through- priority one."

" _One moment, Lieutenant."_

There were a few seconds of static before she heard the gruff voice of her team's leader. _"This is Ghost-Actual, responding to a priority one hail."_

"Sir," she said shakily, "this is Ghost-1. I need you to meet us at the _Cascade of Spirits_ the moment we touch down, ETA is thirteen hours." She thought for a moment, and then amended, "Notify Elizabeth Gates as well, she lives near Chorus if I remember correctly."

" _What? Why the bloody hell-"_

"We've captured the Wraith, sir," she explained before he could ask, "but the situation has gone far beyond what we were expecting- what any of us _could_ have expected."

" _How so?"_

She took a deep breath.

"It's Four, sir. We found Tobias Four … he's the Wraith."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Don't want to leave you guys hanging, but I gotta slow my pace with the uploads here- hot streak's gonna burn me out otherwise.**_

 _ **As always, leave your thoughts and comments in the reviews section for a shoutout on the next chapter- can't wait for you guys to see how this situation resolves itself.**_

 _ **If you'd like to join the discord server and talk with other readers or myself, you can join using the link below;**_

discord . gg / 6nwfXCj _**(Just remove the spaces)**_

 _ **Until the next time,**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	7. Identity Crisis

— **FDN VESSEL "CASCADE OF SPIRITS", HARMONY, CHORUS DOCKYARDS —**

" _This isn't possible."_

You'd have thought that maybe she could have gotten some sleep over the last half a day- that maybe she'd be able to rest well, knowing that the frontier was safe at last from the claws of the elusive Wraith.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

As the engineers had worked to get the _Cascade_ back into working order, Gray had tossed, turned, and laid awake for hours- the haunting image of his face always in front of her, burned into her retinas.

Six years had passed since Regis was destroyed, six years since Spyglass had been overthrown- and six years since Tobias Four and KT-0298 had mysteriously vanished.

It had been initially been assumed that they were dead; but later, it was theorized that they'd been swallowed up by the explosion of temporal energy left behind by the unstable portal of Spyglass's fold weapon, sucked into the time-stream along with the half the planet. Debris from the event had turned up everywhere and anywhere- not to mention _anytime_.

Every year or so, another temporal rift would open up on some distant world, and the FDN would send a retrieval team to collect whatever had been spat out of time. It was these ships that usually had found themselves targeted by the Wraith, though why they never stole anything physical had always been a mystery.

She and the others- Gates, Vale, Buck, all of them- had accompanied the retrieval teams for the first few instances, but … it eventually became too painful to build up hope and ultimately have it wither away, time and time again.

She couldn't claim to have been as close to him as the others were, and wouldn't have dreamt of pretending to be- Gates and Vale had been with him since the beginning as a part of his team. But he was still her friend, and humanity's hero- he meant a great deal to her and the frontier as a whole.

And now he was back from the dead.

She had so many questions- where had he been all this time? Why was he doing this? Where was Kay? The whole myriad of them swirled about in her mind, plaguing her thought process with demands for answers.

Now, she was going to get some.

Gates and Davis had settled down together on the edge of Chorus, Harmony's most prominent city- and the rebuilding efforts after the Seed's attack on it had turned it into a metropolis to rival those of Luma. Skyscrapers stretched high into the air, it had the largest interstellar dockyard in the system … and yet, the two of them preferred to live out in the suburban areas, close to the Floating Gardens, or what remained of them.

She knew why; so many years of warfare had left them, especially Gates, with a desire for stability in their lives. The last time she'd seen them had been three years ago, the final time she'd gone with on a retrieval mission. They had kids now, kids that they wanted to protect from a life of high-octane action.

To truly get the answers she needed, she needed Gates with her. She knew Tobias best- and as Gray had expected, she'd accepted the invitation to the _Cascade_ the moment she'd been told of the situation.

Now, the former captain stood next to the Ghosts and other crewmen in an room adjacent to the interrogation chamber, staring through the one-way glass at their captive as he sat at a stainless steel table, his hands cuffed in front of him. On the table was a tray of objects that had been confiscated when he'd been searched, ones that Gray intended to talk with him about.

"I know it's a lot to take in," she said softly, sympathizing with the other woman's shock, "but it really is-"

"No, you don't get it- I mean, this _isn't possible,"_ Gates emphasized, her eyes never leaving the Wraith.

Danvers coughed slightly. "Well, I mean- he's right there. How do you figure that?"

"What I don't get," Blisk began, a hand on his chin, "is how he can be sitting there- and yet, Gates is right." He turned towards all of them. "I fought both against and with Four- this doesn't add up. The attacks the Wraith carried out, the indifference to killing those who saw him- none of it matches his M.O."

"Six years," Gates breathed, her voice hitching slightly. "Six years since I last heard his voice, but I'll be damned before I ever forget it. Something's not right." She turned to Gray. "I need to speak with him."

"Good," Gray said with a nod, "because that's why you're here."

 _It's time to bring him home._

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the glass and allowed herself to be guided by Gray towards the door. Opening it, the two of them entered and found themselves immediately under the watchful eye of their captive. The side of his face was now sporting a rather noticeable mark, purplish in coloration where Gray had punched through the visor and hit him.

He said nothing as they walked to the other side of the table and took their seats, opting to simply observe and react rather than initiate. Gray was more than happy to lead the conversation.

"Do you know who we are?"

He remained silent, giving no indication that he'd even heard them. That was fine- she hadn't expected him to be cooperative, not after everything that had gone down between them. She gestured at her partner.

"Elizabeth Gates- does that name mean anything to you?"

Gates waited expectantly for him to confess that it did- but if he showed any sign of recognition, neither of them could detect it. Had his memory been damaged? Wiped? There was still something off about him, something that she couldn't quite place …

The older woman sighed. "I remember first meeting you, Tobias. I remember thinking that you would turn out to be just another pain in my ass- and you were, at first." She chuckled softly. "But then, I watched you grow. You grew in your compassion, your character … and somehow, you ended up becoming my best friend. More than that." There was still a smile on Gates' face, but the corners of her eyes were becoming wet.

Finally, there was a response- a slight narrowing of his eyes.

Gray waited for more- but when he stayed quiet, she gave a small sigh. "Four, we're trying to help you here- but we need you to help us understand." She reached into the tray, and lifted up his data-knife that they'd pulled from the terminal.

"You downloaded all of the research findings concerning this ship's classified cargo- but you never attempted to take any of the cargo itself. This is almost the exact same approach you've taken with every other ship you've targeted over the last four years." She crossed her arms, setting them on the cold metal of the table. "Why the data? Why not just take the cargo itself? You've certainly proven to be more than capable of it."

His only answer was an cold glare that made Gray feel as though all the heat in the room had dissipated, his icy demeanor beginning to leave her more shaken than the state she'd been in last night.

"How about this?" She moved on, trying to keep herself from becoming rattled. She lifted up a small, glass cube with a coin frozen inside of it. Engraved into the coin was an unusual emblem- a sword sticking through a broken planet, with small words that stood out quite clearly in contrast.

 _Primus inter pares._

"I've seen one or two of these before," she spoke, her voice low. "Those that had them never told me what they meant, nor where they got them from, and a net search hasn't given us any useful info aside from urban legends- so what are you doing with one in your pocket?"

This time, the silence was almost oppressive as the three of them stared at one another, each waiting for the other to break. A full thirty seconds passed before Gray gave a resigned sigh, and moved to stand up.

"Alright, we'll leave you be. If you want to talk, give us a shout."

He said nothing in return, but watched Gates and Gray exit the room with a curious expression on his features. Once they were gone, he sat back in his chair- seeming more puzzled than anything else.

The two women rejoined the viewing room, their faces glum. Ava waved them over, however- her movement energetic. Everyone else seemed to have surrounded the Ancillary unit, piquing Gray's interest.

"Lieutenant Gray? I was watching your interrogation- and I've noticed several anomalies concerning the captive that you may be interested in."

"And what would those be?" she asked, stepping closer.

"Several of you mentioned that there was something odd about him, something you could not place," Ava explained. "An idea occurred to me, so I checked records on the net and performed a facial comparison- look at the results."

Holding out her hand, the plating on her wrist split apart to reveal a small circular lens which then lit up and projected a hologram into the air; it was two pictures presented side-by side, one of Tobias from the photo they'd all taken on Atania … and the other was of their captive, taken from the interrogation room's security footage. Now that they were put together, she could finally pinpoint what had been so unsettling about his face.

"My god, he's younger."

"By a large degree. A detailed analysis of the comparison estimates that our captive is approximately twenty to twenty-five years old- Tobias Four was thirty when he disappeared," she confirmed. "I would need blood samples to confirm a more exact age …"

"He and the Titan _were_ exposed to a massive burst of temporal energy," Blisk remarked. "I remember the tests that Marder used to run with the Ark on Typhon- could that exposure have reversed the aging process?"

"A good theory, Commander Blisk," she acknowledged, "but there is another anomaly which causes me to question its legitimacy." She gestured towards the glass. "The Wraith has ten fingers."

Gray's eyes followed to where the AI was pointing, and she realized with a start that Ava was right. Counting them herself in disbelief, she noted the presence of all ten fingers on his hands.

"In contrast, Four was missing the fourth and fifth digits of his left hand," she continued. "While the reverse-aging could potentially be explained by exposure to a temporal rift, it does not explain the sudden appearance of phalanges that should be gone- no surgery can reattach fingers years after cell death, and limb regeneration is a field that's still years from leaving the experimental stage at best."

"What are you saying?" Gates asked carefully, trying to understand what the AI's point was.

Ava looked back at the Wraith. "That is not Tobias Four."

"If that's not Four," Gray said carefully, trying to control her voice, "then who the hell is sitting in that chair?"

"Though such practices were outlawed over a century ago for being deemed unethical," Ava said slowly, "I can think of only one procedure that would result in a scenario like this- where all things aside from genetic makeup are different."

The silence in the air was deafening, to say the least. No one spoke, as though for fear that voicing the realization out loud would cause reality itself to shatter.

"You're telling me," Gray began, her voice no louder than a whisper, "that someone _cloned_ Tobias?"

"I'm not certain," Ava admitted, "but I believe it is the likeliest possibility. All evidence points to this being an individual with identical DNA to his, but with vastly different environmental influences on all other accounts."

"I know that symbol," Husher said, suddenly speaking up. "The cube with the coin- it's called a 'Mark of the Advocate'."

"The Advocate?" Danvers asked confusedly, "What the hell is that?" But Vogel was already shaking his head.

"Not what- _who._ The Advocate is supposedly an information broker, or group of them, that's been influencing the frontier's politics and government for decades," he explained. "The first simulacrums were designed and developed by them."

"He's right," Husher agreed, "it's one of the stigmas against sims, or was- when I was turned into one, it had already become a relatively standard procedure amongst the Militia and IMC."

"Not much else is known about them," Vogel continued, "but if anyone had the desire or capability to clone Four …" He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

" _Okay."_

They all jumped at the sudden sound, turning in unison towards the glass where they saw the Wraith waving at the glass with their cuffed hands. _"I'm willing to answer some of your questions- but only if you're willing to answer some of mine."_

Gates' face had turned especially white, pale from hearing the voice of a ghost- a voice which had been silent for six years. Gray grabbed her shoulder reassuringly, and pointed to Ava.

"You, with us. We're getting to the bottom of this."

With a curt nod from the AI, the trio walked back to the door and entered the room once more. Gates and Gray took their seats while Ava stood next to the table, her hands behind her back as she awaited orders patiently.

The Wraith looked at her with distaste. "Are you planning to torture me with that?"

"No," Gray replied swiftly, her tone all business. "I plan to get some answers."

"Ask away."

"Do you know who we are?"

"No more than what you've told me," he said with a shrug. "I assume that you're an elite operative working within the FDN, you said you've been hunting me awhile- she, on the other hand, is dressed more like a civilian." He looked Gates up and down, furrowing his brow. "I think."

Gray nodded. "Alright. Now, what are-"

"No, that's not how this works," he cut her off with a smirk. "My turn."

She shut her mouth, and gave a small nod for him to go ahead.

Immediately, his expression became less smug and more analytical. "What's 'the net'?"

Gray stared at him blankly. "What?"

"You said, 'a net search hasn't given us any useful info', right? What the hell is the net?"

She tried to scrutinize his expression, see if he was trying to pull some kind of stunt- but for all intents and purposes, he seemed genuinely clueless.

"Um … it's a digital network that spans across the frontier. The inner worlds have something like it, but not exactly- and each planet out here has their own centralized network in addition to the overarching one," she explained. "Essentially, it's a method of storing information and sharing it so that others can access it, even from other systems."

She finished and noted that as she'd spoken, his expression had become more and more focused. It seemed that he truly had never heard of such a concept.

She blinked. "In any matter, onto the next question- what are you stealing classified intel from retrieval team ships for?"

Now, he cracked a smile. "Sorry, but that's a no-go. Try again."

She'd figured that he wouldn't answer, but it hadn't hurt to try. She leaned in closer. "What is 'six'? What does it mean?"

Among the theories she'd heard (and some of which she'd contributed to) were that of it being a religious icon, some odd fascination with the number six, or a countdown to a time when there would be six of something- maybe six years after they first started appearing, or something similar. But she watched as he simply jabbed a thumb backwards at himself.

"Six."

"What does that mean?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together in consternation. "How does that help me?"

"You … _you're_ Six?" Gates stammered quietly, putting the pieces together. Surprisingly, the Wraith nodded.

"That's my name."

"What is it with the numbered names?" Gray muttered to herself, then looked back up at 'Six'. "What's your first name?"

He tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know …" she muttered, feeling ridiculous for even having to ask this, "A proper name, perhaps? You've got to be more than just a number."

He didn't answer, his expression mirroring the one he'd worn when he'd asked about the net. With a sigh, she gave a resigned nod. "Okay, Six it is …"

"That brings me to my next question," he started, leaning in just as she had done. "You called me 'Four' earlier."

His eyes narrowed. "Who is Four?"

Both Gates and Gray were silent for several seconds, neither of them completely able to process the sheer irony of what the Wraith had just asked. He waited expectantly, his eyebrows raised impatiently.

"Ava," Gray finally muttered, "pull up a net article of Tobias Four … read it aloud."

"Of course, Lieutenant," Ava complied, holding out her wrist and projecting a holographic image of the site she was pulling information from. After a second or two, she began to speak.

"' _Tobias Four was a Pilot that served in many interstellar conflicts, most notably the Frontier War, the Amalgamation event, and the Embers' assault on Regis. First fighting on the side of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, he later defected to the Frontier Militia after meeting the Titan, KT-0298 …'"_

Six's eyes widened, staring at the holographic article before him, reading the words himself as Ava read them aloud.

"' _The Pilot and Titan went on to fight for humanity in various galactic conflicts, the last of which being a suicidal mission to overthrow the rogue artificial intelligence, Spyglass, on the planet Regis. Though their efforts were successful, the pair is tragically assumed to have been killed by the destruction of the fold-weapon on the planet's surface …'"_

His mouth parted slightly, his eyes moving line by line down the text, drinking in the information as though it were water.

"' _His best friend and former squad-mate, Elizabeth Gates, delivered a eulogy for the pair at the post-conflict funeral held on Harmony. In remembrance of those lost in the final assault on Regis, the planet's capital city of Chorus established and dedicated a memorial to the fallen men and women who gave their lives, Four's name being chief among them. Despite her eulogy, Gates has declined to further speak publicly of her friend's actions, stating that, 'He would never have wanted his legacy to be honored above others''. Nevertheless, Tobias Four remains a hero to all on the Frontier, and humanity as a whole.'"_

Gates said nothing, but the wetness in her eyes had fully materialized as tears which streamed down her face, running down her chin and onto her jacket.

Ava finished speaking, the hologram having switched from the text of the article to a picture that the page had added to accompany it. It was a photo of four Pilots in a ship hangar, sitting on a few supply crates. The caption beneath it read, _Foxtrot-Three, 'The Heartless', in the hangar of the MCS Soaring Griffin: (from left to right) Amelia Vale, Tyra Crane, Tobias Four, Robert McFarlane._

Six had heard the name Vale before, he knew her as the former leader of the FDN. The other two, Crane and McFarlane, he didn't recognize- but the man in the center …

He moved closer to the hologram, Ava assisting him by moving her wrist towards him as well. Tobias was decked out in his Pilot gear, a jovial smile on his face- but it wasn't the gear Six was paying attention to. His eyes darted to every physical feature of the man, one by one, noting the shocking similarities- the same ashen brown hair, the same fair skin, and his eyes …

"You have his eyes," Gates finally spoke, practically whispering. "The same piercing blue that pulls you in, threatens to drown you in its waters if you spend too long looking into it."

He turned to look at her as she clasped her hands together tightly, meeting him eye to eye. "I spent many hours gazing into those eyes, watching the storms within them unfurl. But his storms spoke of pain, friendship, loss, love- they had winds of all colors and emotions …" She shook her head ever so slightly.

"Yours are just empty."

Six's jaw tightened, and he sat back in his chair once more.

"We believe you are a clone of Tobias," Gray began tentatively. "It's obvious that you were not aware of your origins, and I understand if this is quite a bit of a shock to you. We know that you have ties to a figure known as the Advocate-"

At the mention of that title, his eyes widened.

"Work with us, and we can help you," she quickly added, sensing his rising anxiety. "Whoever they are, it's apparent that they have power over you. If you help us, we can protect you-"

"No," he whispered, "you can't."

"We have many resources that we can use to ensure your safety-" she tried again, but he cut her off.

"You don't understand who you're dealing with- they _already know."_ He looked down stonily at the table in front of him, his life unraveling before his eyes. "Knowledge is power … and the Advocate is knowledge. If I didn't know any of this, it's because they didn't want me to know, and that means …" He trailed off, turning to internal thought rather than muttering aloud.

Neither woman knew how to respond to the sudden change in demeanor from Six. Ava looked expectantly at them, wishing to know how they wanted to proceed. Gray was about to suggest that they take a short break when Six sat back up and a look of determination overtook his features.

"Alright, I'm done- I'm ready," he said.

Gray gave a sigh of relief, and nodded encouragingly. "I'm glad. We'll start by assigning you a temporary escort detail-

He shook his head slowly, forcing her to stop mid-sentence.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Without warning, the wall behind him exploded. Gray immediately dove to protect Gates, pushing her down and onto the floor to avoid the debris and rubble that came flying at them. When she was sure that the blast was over, she looked back up.

From the hole in the wall, _something_ stepped through. It was a biped, taller than seven feet, and stood upon digitigrade legs that ended in metallic feet that resembled Ava's, two claw-like toes on the front and heel that provided additional stability. It was likely outfitted in a white and gold color palette, but the dust from the explosion had coated the entire exterior with grey chalk.

She watched as it stepped forward, reached down, and broke the cuffs binding Six's hands together easily. Now able to stand up, he immediately did so and spread his arms in a 't' shape as the front plates of the thing's chest and head split apart, shifting in every direction to allow access. Jumping backwards, it caught Six within itself, and the armor closed up again. After a second or so, two blue lights illuminated on the front paneling of the 'head', staring directly at her.

From within the other room, the occupants watched on in horror. Danvers pointed a shaking hand at the sight. "Uh … Husher?"

The simulacrum was just as nonplussed as he was. "Yeah?"

" _Miniature Titan!"_


	8. Disillusionment

— **UNKNOWN SYSTEM, MANY YEARS AGO —**

 _Sidestep, adjust footing._

The attack misses him, leaving his opponent overextended. An opening.

 _Press the advantage._

He doesn't expect his staff to land its mark, and it doesn't, but it does put Alastor on the defensive. Countering, his mentor lashes out with a blow from the side.

 _Change stance, block._

Holding his staff out at an angle, its upper half catches its twin before it makes contact of any kind with his head.

 _End it._

Pulling his weapon backwards, its tip retains its grip on Alastor's staff and sends the other wooden rod flipping into the air behind him. Not wasting a moment, he brings the head of it back down and strikes the older man in the center of his chest.

The force of it knocks his teacher to the ivory floor, a shocked expression overtaking his features. For a moment, the two of them are frozen- their positions as master and pupil reversed at long last.

He stands there, no thought to the slick sweat that beaded along his frons, nor the grains of sand wriggling into his wounds- all that matters to him is the slow widening of Alastor's smile that completely swallows the shock of before and replaces it with that which he has always coveted from his mentor …

 _Pride._

"Satis."

The command comes from his left, and Six immediately retracts his hand, placing the staff in its strap on his back. Rising back onto his feet, Alastor first bows deeply to the one who had spoken, their form hidden in the shadows of the plants hanging over the balcony they watch from. Then, he turns and bows again- to _him._

"Our time as mentor and student has concluded," he said warmly, though his tone was tinged with regret- the emotion that always comes as an end approaches. "There is no more for me to teach you- but you have grown into a warrior that I know will bring honor to us."

Stepping forward, Alastor placed his hands on his shoulders. "I am proud of you, as I have always been proud of you- and as I will always _be_ proud of you."

Swallowing hard, Six simply nodded. The urge to embrace his teacher- his _former_ teacher- was powerful, but he resisted. Such an action was unbecoming of his status, and would lessen the meaning of Alastor's gift.

"Primus inter pares."

"Primus inter pares."

Finally, the older man made his exit, leaving only Six and the observer. He waited patiently for the letter to initiate conversation.

"… You have done well."

"I have done what was expected of me," Six replied humbly.

"True- but you have done well, nonetheless."

Walking to the edge of the balcony, they began to descend the stairs that led to the ground below, their elegant, gleaming robes of silver and gold trailing behind their feet. Walking across the ivory floor to where Six stood, they placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Walk with me."

Obliging, he let them lead him away from the sparring platform and onto the warm sands that blanketed the surface of the world they called home. He curled his toes in involuntary satisfaction, feeling their familiar heat travel up through the arches of his feet, and into his legs.

"I have received word that our enemy is broken- the tyrant mind has fallen."

Six looked at them sharply. "Spyglass is dead?"

He knew not the details of humanity's war with the omnipotent intelligence- only that beyond this world, Spyglass had seized the reigns of mankind's destiny. It seemed that, at last, humanity had taken them back.

"Yes," they breathed, "the threat of extinction no longer looms above us- but at a great cost."

They were silent for a moment, contemplating something above Six's comprehension- then gave a loud sigh, pulling back the hood of their robes to let the rays of sunlight reflect off the lighter strands of their lurid brown hair.

"I lost your brother long before you were born," the Advocate said, staring off into the distance towards the Insos' agora, one of the many places forbidden to Six. "I searched for years, always meaning to someday find him and bring him home- but circumstances necessitated otherwise."

He exhaled deeply, his gaze still focused far off into the horizon. "It seems that the opportunity has slipped through my fingers." At last, he turned, his golden-brown eyes meeting the wild blue of Six's. "Your brother has disappeared once more."

Six tried to look concerned, or shocked- but all he could manage was the painful expression that came from knowing you were only second-best.

It was a mien not lost on the Advocate. "Don't let your thoughts go unheard. Speak your mind."

Six sighed. "I feel as though none of my achievements will ever compare to his- not in your eyes, anyway."

"How so?"

"You refuse to speak of him to me, his past, what he's done- you only tell me that he betrayed you, betrayed your ideals. That his life was spent compromising your cause! And yet …" Six swallowed hard. "And yet, you have always spoken of him with admiration and respect. It always seems as though you wish you had him instead of me. I don't understand- am I not enough?"

The Advocate was silent for a few moments, taking the time to word his response before replying.

"My son, a shepherd does not value the life of one sheep over another. When one strays, he does not cast it out in anger- he always hopes that they return to the herd."

He looked away, lost in thought. "Four's betrayal was not done through a will of his own- but that severance of ties shaped him into the man he became, a man who embodied the obverse of what I had intended for him. He still exemplified traits worthy of recognition- ambition, determination, and an resolute spirit, unyielding against all opposition."

Slowly, the Advocate began to shake his head ever so slightly. "But he also displayed a clear ignorance to the lessons I have taken great care to give _you-_ that you owe allegiance to no man, no doctrine, no regime … the only true power-"

"The only true power is knowledge," Six finished, earning a rare smile from the Advocate.

"That's right. And knowledge is _me."_

— **CASCADE OF SPIRITS, PRESENT DAY —**

He felt the neural link take hold, and waited for the ocular systems to come online. After a moment, his patience was rewarded with a view of the interrogation room via Ellie's optics.

"Engage weapon systems!"

" _Working on it!"_

Small barrels emerged from the Nomad's forearms with a faint click as the metal components locked themselves into place.

No came the fun part.

Now linked within Ellie, Six raised his arms in an obvious fashion to whatever occupants were in the room behind the one-way glass. Holding them out sideways, he gave them a second to figure out what he was going to do.

Feeling that he'd allotted them enough time, he began firing and spinning in a circle. The rounds tore through the glass and the walls, creating even more chaos and pandemonium that would confuse those present and hopefully create a panic- he needed them off balance, disoriented … not unlike how he felt right now.

 _A clone._

It wasn't possible, he couldn't be- Four was his _brother,_ the weak-willed traitor who abandoned the Advocate and followed his heart rather than his brain, he was _nothing_ like him-

And yet, those pictures … that document, wherever the Ancilla had pulled it from, it told a different story. Gates and the one who the others had called 'Gray', they had _known_ him, had believed Six _was_ him-

He looked at them now, still lying on the floor as they kept their bodies as small a target as possible for his bullets. He aimed an arm at them, intending to finish them off …

"… _Six?"_

He stood there, frozen, unable to follow through. Ellie's voice broke through his haze, her questioning tone providing further evidence that he wasn't thinking clearly, he was unfocused- and he wasn't about to make any rash decisions in such a state.

Especially concerning the two people who had just cracked the foundation of his reality.

 _Need to get out of here._

Lowering his arm again, he turned and began to walk through the hole in the wall that Ellie had blasted apart. He crossed the threshold-

"Six, wait!"

He paused, looking backwards to see Gray tentatively rising up to her feet with her arms up. "Please stop- you don't understand, you need _help-"_

"No," he answered shortly, his voice emitting from Ellie's speaker systems. "I need _answers_."

Rotating back once again, he said far more softly, "And you don't have them."

Refusing to waste another second here, he started sprinting through the hallways away from the scene of destruction.

" _Hangar isn't too far- make a right at this junction!"_

Heeding her advice, he rounded the corner and maintained his speed. He was halfway down the passage when alarms began to blare, and he swore under his breath.

"This place is about to be swarming with soldiers-"

True to his prediction, the door at the end of the hall suddenly opened to reveal a squad of armed riflemen with weapons trained on him. One of them, likely the commanding officer, pointed aggressively in his direction. "Stand down, or we will open fire-"

He'd barely managed to finish the last word when Six dove forward in a leap that took him to the floor several meters forward. The grunts hastily readjusted their aim, only for their efforts to be fruitless as he exited the roll and lunged towards their heads. Predictably, they ducked their heads and gave him an opportunity to slip by easily.

" _Hang on, you're letting them go-?"_

"We've got more pressing matters, Ellie!"

Gone was his rigorous training in the art of invisibility, the quiet voice within that told him to leave no witnesses, to silence all who would threaten the path forward- now, his mind was simply that of a creature who had been cornered and wanted to get the hell away.

Landing on the metal floor and scraping forward in a shower of sparks, he performed a quick analysis of the situation. The alarm had put the frigate on high alert, and he could see some of its occupants in the hangar immediately taking notice of him and readying themselves for a fight- fortunately, it seemed as though none of them were armed with any serious weaponry, let alone anti-Titan munitions.

Still, the two of them have to be quick if they wanted to cross this hangar in one piece.

"Prepare thrusters-"

" _Already coming online-"_

He felt the familiar hum that accompanied them, the warmth that now pulsed near the small of his back, and made his move. Darting out onto the deck, his strides were long thanks to Ellie's digitigrade legs, and they covered ground far faster than if he'd simply been sprinting out-of-suit-

A staccato of gunfire erupted from his right, forcing him to slide forward out of instinctive reaction. Even so, he heard and felt the hard impacts of the bullets against his shoulder and ribs, their potential damage negated by Ellie's shields- but they didn't have the full capacity of the shield to work with at the moment, mostly due to Ellie diverting its power to their thrusters in preparation for what was to come.

Finally, they reached the threshold of the hangar. From this point, the exterior of the ship angled down sharply until it would simply drop off entirely, leaving whoever was unfortunate enough to slip to likely fall to their death. In this case, the Chorus dockyards had been constructed beside the city's seaport, which meant that everything beneath the ships that docked here was ocean- it was a moot point, however, as water would likely have the same effect as concrete if one were to hit it from this height.

That was why, despite not hesitating to do so, it was with no small amount of trepidation that Six leapt off the edge of the hangar. Landing on the steep decline of the ship's hull, he began to slide forward on his legs and rear, using his hand to balance and steer himself with the slightest of control.

" _Thrusters warmed up, preparing ignition-"_

"Time's running out, and so's the runway!" he shouted, unable to slow their rapid descent. "It's gotta be now, Ellie, _now, do it NOW-"_

Just as they slid off the edge of the ship and he felt the signature weightless sensation of freefall as they began to plummet towards the sea below, there was a roar of flame and motor as the thrusters activated, and they immediately started to slow. Angling his body to level their trajectory, he evened out and achieved a stable flight pattern.

" _There!"_ Ellie said, marking a location on his HUD. _"We can lay low for a bit there, figure out where to go from here."_

Back in the hangar, the Ghosts barely reached the hangar in time to see their former captive soaring towards the skyline of Chorus, the faint glow of his thrusters disappearing as the distance became too far.

Danvers coughed into his hand. "So, uh … it can fly. The mini-Titan can fly."

"So it would seem," Husher murmured. "I think we know now how he's been getting on and off the ships he's raided."

"What do we do, Lieutenant?" Vogel asked, seemingly at a loss. It wasn't too far off from how Gray was feeling herself. Something wasn't sitting right with her, and it wasn't just the fact that their closest lead to finding Tobias Four in six years had just gone and flown the coop- _literally._

" _Ghost-Actual to Ghost-1, come in."_

She opened the comlink channel. "I'm here, Blisk."

" _Interrogation room's in a right mess, but everyone's fine. I'm sending Gates and a few others to the infirmary for a medical examination, just in case."_ He sounded tired, but grateful for how the situation had played out; worse than they'd expected, better than it could have gone. _"What happened?"_

"He got away. Looks like he's been using some kind of experimental Titan chassis on these raids for insertion and extraction- flies just as well as any Northstar I've seen. Thing must have been hiding on the hull when we captured him, and worked its way through our ship's maintenance shafts over the last thirteen hours."

" _Copy that, I'll include it in the report. This whole thing's gone to shit … anything else to note?"_

She hesitated for a moment, trying to find a way to express the uncertain feeling she had. "This feel's off, Commander."

" _How so?"_

She neglected to reply until she had a proper response to give him other than 'a hunch'- and like a switch had been flipped in her mind, the answer came to her.

"He let us live."

She thought of the destruction Six had caused- everything from the now-unrecognizable interrogation room to the dented floors and black scrapes in the metal hallways. "That Titan was more than capable of laying waste to our forces, and then some- but he chose not to."

" _Care to hazard a guess as to why?"_

"Either his moral code is a game of roulette, or he was too terrified to think properly- he just wanted to escape, and he didn't care about killing witnesses like he's done before."

" _What would terrify the Wraith?"_

She swallowed. "The truth."

— **VI—**

He landed hard, far harder than he'd meant to- thankfully, it appeared that this alley had been deserted. Even in a city like Chorus, the crown jewel of Harmony, there were plenty of dirty, abandoned slums to hide out in. Not that he would know this, of course- he'd never been in a city slum, hell he'd never really been in a _city_ aside from the Insos', and that hardly qualified.

But Ellie had known.

"Let me out, Ellie."

" _Disengaging Pilot protocol."_

As she spoke, the plating of her front split apart again, allowing him to exit freely. Stepping out of her, he spun on a dime and faced her just as her pieces shifted back into place and her two optical lights met his steely gaze.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough." Her voice sounded shaky, though it was possible she could be feigning it. He had to know.

Clenching his hands into fists, he rounded on her. "And I'm sure you expect me to believe that you had no idea about any of this?"

"I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, Ellie."

She hesitated for a moment. "When we were first partnered together, I was ordered not to interact with you outside of operations. I'm sure you were told something similar?"

He nodded slowly, remembering the day he'd first met her- he'd been sixteen at the time, and been deemed ready for his first mission. The two of them had boarded the _Jericho,_ a mission he considered to have been executed flawlessly.

Beforehand, however, Alastor had warned him that their operations would be monitored closely at first, ensuring that the two of them were indeed up to the task- and one of his mentor's commands had been to keep all communication relative to the mission …

" _Consider this a trial run; it will determine whether or not excursions like this will continue. Your interaction with LE-2 is to be kept to a minimum, and only done in accordance with mission parameters. Do as you have been taught- there will be no discussion of your upbringing, none of your training, and none of the outside world. Is that understood?"_

And he'd obeyed. He had been used to the routine by that point- he was the Advocate's closely guarded secret, unknown to all but a few of the Advocate's inner circle; socialization was forbidden to him. He'd never questioned _why_ this was the case- it just _was._ If anything, it only served to embolden him, to give him the sense that he was important above all other treasures, more precious to the Advocate than any knowledge. If they held value in his existence's continued secrecy, then so did he.

But if Ellie had been given a similar order … if she'd been told never to talk of things beyond his scope, if she'd been told never to ask him of the circumstances regarding his past or to talk to him of life on the frontier … then that meant that information wasn't just supposed to be kept from _her-_ it was to be kept from _him._

"Didn't stop us from getting to know each other well," she continued, ignorant to his thoughts, "but it made topics of conversation rather difficult to begin. I've wanted so badly to ask you about the frontier, about the FDN and their motives-"

His head snapped towards her. "What do you mean? You don't know?"

She seemed just as nonplussed as he was. "Do _you_ not?"

He shook his head. "I always assumed- I thought you knew what all this was for, I thought-"

His very way of life was crumbling before him, and he slumped against a wall of the alley, sliding to the ground as he did so. Ellie was taken aback at his admission, and realized the gravity of their situation.

"All this time, neither of us has known why we've carried out these operations … we've been fighting and killing people without knowing _why_ we're killing them-"

"They're the enemy," he muttered numbly, unable to provide any better answer.

" _Our_ enemy, or the Advocate's?" she countered, crossing her arm.

"There's no difference."

She scoffed in disbelief. "Even now, after everything you heard- after finding out everything you've known is a _lie-_ you're still defending them? You saw that document for yourself-"

"The information could have been fabricated-"

"And I'm sure that the photo was fabricated too, right?"

That shut him up. The picture he'd seen of Four, the one of him with his squad of 'Heartless' … it was the one thing he couldn't explain away. The same face, but with a totally different expression than any that Six had ever worn … he'd genuinely seemed happy.

Of all the things Six had been taught, the things he'd experienced … that was something utterly foreign to him. He knew of pride when he was praised for his successes, he knew of how it felt to have others respect you, _fear_ you even … but _happiness_ remained a stranger to him.

That was the one damning piece of evidence that he couldn't fathom- seeing the sheer enjoyment on a face that he'd always known as his own, and yet also knowing he'd never felt as Four had in that moment.

Ellie noticed his silence. "Six? What do we do now?"

The question bounced around in his head, joining all the hundreds of others that had recently manifested and now banged and shouted in his mind, demanding answers. The truth was that he didn't know what to think anymore- his whole life, he'd been led to believe in one thing; the Advocate. There was no talk of gods, no discussion of a higher power- as far as he was concerned, the Advocate was the Alpha and the Omega himself.

So who was there to turn to once your god has abandoned you?

"The Advocate will already know what happened on the ship," he said quietly, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "I don't know what to believe- but I'm going to find answers one way or another, and I can't do that if I head home, I'll never be allowed to leave again- not after this whole mess." He paused. "I'm going to find that memorial the document mentioned, learn what I can."

She nodded, and stepped closer. "Alright, I'm ready to move-"

"You're not coming with."

There were several seconds of silence, one which was only broken by a confused and somewhat hurt, "What?"

"The Advocate will have already sent teams to retrieve me," he explained with a grimace. "I need to find out what I can before they find me- but what do you think they'll do to you after what happened back there?"

She was quiet as she processed exactly what he was saying.

He shook his head. "If you're with me when they show up, you're as good as dead. You need to leave, now- get as far from me as you can, hide for as long as it takes- it's the only way you're walking out of this alive."

There was no response for a moment or two, just the sound of distant bustle from traffic and people who had no idea of the revelations taking place so close to them. Finally, she stepped backwards, pulling away from him.

"The one time you show a shred of affinity for me, and it's when you're telling me to get away," she remarked with a mirthless chuckle. "How perfectly … _you."_

The words stung, but they weren't unwarranted. He pursed his lips as he remembered what he'd told her on the _Cascade_ … evidently, she did too. Turning around, she took one more step before turning back to look at him.

"For what it's worth, Six- I hope you find what you're looking for."

With that, she sprinted out of the alley and into the next- out of his sight, and gone from his life.

He couldn't have told her just how deeply he'd meant what he'd just said, how much her safety actually mattered to him, and how he wished he could take back what he'd told her before- she'd have never left him behind otherwise. Despite what the Advocate had taught him regarding the abandonment of his emotions, he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if what he predicted came to fruition- if she was harmed protecting him.

Of the two ways to lose his closest friend, he felt he'd chosen the better one.


	9. Parallels

"Are you alright?"

Gates nodded numbly, not quite looking Gray in the eye as she did so. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine."

The infirmary was relatively quiet, considering the circumstances. There had only been a handful of wounded, and the damage was minimal at best. Even Gates was here more as a formality than anything, suffering no more than a few cuts and scrapes to show for her presence in the now-destroyed interrogation room.

But that was a good thing- it meant they had a chance to talk.

"You sure, El?"

The former captain looked like she was about to affirm her status again- then she lost her composure, and held her face in her hands. "I j-just … after so long, I never expected to hear his v-voice again …" Her voice was muffled and wet, betraying her true emotions as she hid them and her tears from the lieutenant.

Gray had no experience in handling these sort of situations. There were only two times she'd seen Gates break down like this; once after the rest of the 6-4 had died, and once when Spyglass had falsely announced that Four had been killed. The woman was a statue most other times, an iron rod of sheer will and grit who defied all that dared to challenge her.

Seeing her like this only brought home the impact of just how truly disturbing their discovery had been.

"Could it be a brother?" she suggested weakly, hoping to find any other solution other than the one presented by Ava. "A relative, something like that-?"

"No," Gates interrupted, lifting her head up and wiping the corners of her eyes. "Four had no family, he told me when we first met. His mother's death was the reason he joined the IMC to begin with, and he n-never mentioned any siblings- certainly not a twin."

"And even then, the age gap …" Gray continued the thought, trailing off as she realized the impossibility of such a scenario. "There's no way any identical twin could be that much younger, except … maybe cryo?"

"Long-term cryo-stasis has side effects," Gates replied, shaking her head. "You heard the Ancillary, Six would have had to have been a teenager when Tobias disappeared, and it's been six years since- more than a decade in cryo would certainly lead to unknown physical or mental defects, not the kind of person you'd want carrying out sensitive stealth missions."

"Right," Gray murmured, trying to think of how else-

A thought suddenly struck her. "Hang on- you said Four's mother died?"

"Yes," Gates confirmed. "When he was seventeen, she was killed in the crossfire of a Militia attack. Left him orphaned."

"No father?"

"Never mentioned one. I assumed they walked out on him when he was young- he did grow up on Gridiron, after all."

Gray mulled that piece of information over, and came to a sudden revelation. "Six would have been just a few years old when Four's mother was killed, no more than two or three."

Gates tilted her head slightly. "Your point being?"

"Six was alive at the same time Four's mother was killed, and _she wasn't the one who gave birth to him."_

Her eyes widened. "Someone _did_ clone Four- and they did it when he was still a kid."

"No one's trying to recreate the savior of the Frontier- Six was created before Four even joined the IMC, let alone became the Inferno."

"But why would anyone want to …" Gates' mouth shut itself rather quickly as she began to understand what Gray was implying. "Oh, no. No, that _can't_ be the reason-"

"You said Four's father was out of the picture," Gray interjected. "It's not too crazy of a scenario- mother leaves the father, takes their child with her … and the father happens to own enough resources to recreate his lost son."

"You really think that … _Tobias's father_ _could be_ _the_ _Advocate?"_

"I don't know what to think," Gray admitted, crossing her arms tiredly. "But until we have a better idea of what the hell is going on, that's the theory I'm gonna work off of."

Gates was silent for a few moments, processing everything they'd just discussed. After some time, she looked back at Gray, locking gazes with her.

"You need to find him _now_."

Gray was taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

"He's out there, lost and confused- he has no idea who he really is." Gates gestured at the lieutenant and herself. "We're the only ones who can tell him- if he's right, and the Advocate _does_ have spies on this ship, then they already know that their secret's out. If you don't find him before they do-"

"Then we won't ever find him again," Gray whispered.

Without hesitation, she lifted her wrist to her mouth and spoke into the comlink attached to it. "Ghost-Actual, this is Ghost-1; requesting permission to leave the station."

—X—

He didn't know what to think.

To be perfectly honest, he was starting to wonder if he even knew _how_ to think anymore. He'd been taught how to, once- but had that been a lie as well? Everything he saw was slowly becoming a single blur, everything he heard was just a droning noise somewhere off in the background of his numbness-

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, lifting the collar of the coat he wore a little higher. The person he'd bumped gave him a rather displeased expression, but thankfully seemed satisfied with his apology.

The alleyway that Ellie had dropped him off in hadn't had the widest variety of options with which to build a strong disguise, but he'd found enough discarded clothing in various dumpsters to at least hide his now-defunct stealth suit; a heavy coat and a pair of pants with holes wide enough for his hands to fit through.

He'd been debating on whether or not to don the weathered and torn cap he'd found- but considering his present location, he was glad he'd opted to grab it and the broken glasses frames he'd found.

" _The end of the Amalgamation event was certainly a cause for celebration in the outer colonies, but would quickly become the largest turning point in the frontier's history as the heavy losses both the IMC and Militia forces sustained allowed the leader of the Remnant forces, the wartime artificial-intelligence known as Spyglass, to take control over most of the outer worlds …"_

He looked over at the timeline display in the museum, listening to the speaker that told the story of the frontier- the story that apparently _he_ had not been privy to.

" _In one surprise attack, Spyglass succeeded in eliminating all but a few of both factions' leaders; Sarah Briggs, Marcus Graves, Cheng Lorck, and Anton Marder were among those killed whilst in the midst of negotiations for peace. This left the remainder of their forces scattered and confused; combined with Spyglass's promise of a prosperous future between mankind and AI's, referring to the Titans used for combat during the Frontier War, Spyglass's reign was all but certain …"_

A woman accompanying a small girl wandered away from the timeline, choosing instead to make their way over towards an array of images detailing various people that Tobias Four met during his life.

After all, this was _his_ museum.

Six hadn't been sure that this was a good idea- after all, it would certainly be a sight to see someone with the same face of the guy who went missing years ago, let alone to see them in a building _dedicated_ to archiving all of his history. But he'd compromised and gone with the disguise option rather than passing up the opportunity. Where else was he going to find as reliable a source of information on the subject?

He had to know.

Quickly, he made his way over to the timeline before the speaker could reset its progress. The display seemed to detect him, and continued from where it had left off.

" _Four spent nearly two years fighting the forces of New Humanity where he could, accompanied by his Titan before being inexplicably declared dead by Spyglass via a public announcement. This was later proven to be false, however, as the former Pilot resurfaced again years later to join the group of rebels who had taken up the fight after his disappearance; the Embers …"_

Six looked at one of the pictures on the slideshow the monitor was playing- it was a photo of Four and several others he didn't recognize aside from three- Amelia Vale, the simulacrum who first established the FDN. Gates, the woman who had been in the interrogation room with him. And Gray … the one who captured him.

He still was unsure what to make of her- she was certainly capable, there's no way she and her team of 'Ghosts' would have been able to take him down if she wasn't. But as far as what kind of person she was, whether she was trustworthy enough to contact again once he'd figured things out … he wasn't convinced yet.

" _This is the last known photograph of Four before the Embers' assault on Regis, taken on Atania while surrounded by his closest friends and teammates. On Regis, the Embers discovered that Spyglass had constructed a modified fold-weapon, altering the designs of its creators, the mysterious Architects who shaped the frontier into what it is today …"_

The Architects … a race of aliens that built devices of undefinable power, creatures with the capability to manipulate time and space itself. How much else had been kept from him? How much more did he remain ignorant to of the world he'd been living in? Killing these people of the FDN and raiding their ships without ever knowing the true impact of his actions …

He _thought_ he'd known- but he really only knew what they'd decided he _needed_ to know.

" _Details are scarce as to what truly happened on Regis, as survivors of the event seem loathe to speak of it- however, it is known that the fold-weapon was destroyed by the impact of an EOS vessel, the Inferno. This led to the destabilization of the space-time portal it had created, which eventually collapsed in on itself and destroyed the planet. Four and his Titan were reported to be missing in action, and many suspect the pair gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the survival of humanity."_

He raised an eyebrow, ever the cynic. For someone who gave the ultimate sacrifice, the museum's displays seemed determined to heavily tone down just how much of a role Four's Titan played in his life.

 _I'm sure Ellie would agree, though she'd consider it rather ironic that you of all people would notice such a thing._

He grimaced, feeling the earlier pain of watching her leave flare up again. Now, even his own thoughts had turned against him.

Shaking his head, he turned away from the timeline and walked over to another area of the museum- one where a larger group of visitors had crowded around a particular glass case.

Managing to make his way to the front of the group unseen, Six found himself staring at a suit of worn armor. It was white, save for the blackened mark on the side of its helmet. Leaning forward, he read the inscription of the plaque that stood before it.

 _This armor was issued to Tobias upon receiving his Pilot certification with the IMC. Though it was far superior in terms of protection to Militia-issued sets at the time, he voluntarily gave it up to solidify his loyalty to KT and to those who had given him a second chance._

 _This is more than just an old suit of armor; this is the moment he chose to let go of who he was, and became the man he wanted to be._

— _Elizabeth Gates_

He read that last line a few more times before lifting his eyes up to the case. The helmet stared back at him, its visor a blue that could rival his own rich irises. Slowly, he stepped back, allowing the armor to fit over his reflection in the glass-

A hand suddenly appeared on his shoulder, and a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

"With me. Now."

Without hesitation, he looked away from the case and followed the one who'd spoken to him towards a spot near the back of the room. There were still people about, but they were far more infrequent here in the shadowy corners. Apparently, they were sparse enough to where his addresser felt comfortable enough to show their face from beneath the hood they wore.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Alastor," Six replied, trying to assuage his friend's fears. "I think the bigger question is what are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here for _you_ , of course," Alastor whispered. "We received word that you'd been captured- I volunteered to retrieve you personally, in place of a retrieval team. I thought it would make things easier, quieter."

From off to the side, Six heard a set of heavy footsteps approaching them. With complete surprise, he noted the presence of LE-5 as she approached the pair of men.

"Good to see that you're safe, Six."

Though she certainly stood out, apparently she wasn't enough to draw the attention of the visitors; they must have assumed she was some special sort of Ancillary.

"Thanks, LE-5," he answered coolly. Why was she here? Had Alastor used her for transport?

"Where is LE-2?" the older man asked quietly, looking around as though expecting her to suddenly materialize. "We didn't see her outside, and her tracking beacon has been deactivated."

He breathed an internal sigh of relief that they didn't have her, and she'd had the sense to hide. _Good thinking, Ellie. But I have come up with an explanation now …_

"She ran," he said- not technically a lie. "She was afraid of the repercussions that might come to her due to the mission being compromised."

Alastor nodded knowingly. "I see- well, we'll have to worry about it later. Our main priority is you- our benefactor is most enthusiastic to ensure your safe return."

 _Our benefactor …_

At the mention of the Advocate, Six gritted his teeth. "I won't be returning."

There was a moment of silence, one that only ended when Alastor tentatively asked, "What do you mean?"

"Everything I know … everything I _thought_ I knew …" He swallowed hard. "It's a lie, all of it. I don't know what's real anymore, and what's fabricated … but there's a discovery I've made, one I need to pursue before coming home."

"What sort of discovery?"

Six looked back at Alastor, fully prepared to launch into a reveal of what he'd learned over the last day- but something in the man's eyes gave him pause. At the mention of a 'discovery', a small flash of emotion that he'd come to recognize very well crossed the face of the man that he had least expected to see it affect …

Fear.

"It's true, isn't it?" Six breathed, his voice barely audible. "And … you knew?"

In an instant, Alastor's face hardened. His expression became less of the friend he'd come to know, and more like the mentor he'd spent his early life training with- the one who expected him to obey without question.

"This knowledge was kept from you for a reason, Six. There are affairs at play that you don't fully understand-"

"Oh, I think there's _plenty_ I don't fully understand," he retorted, his hurt and confusion slowly releasing their hold to anger and outrage. "And who do I have to thank that for?"

"Six, that is enough," Alastor ordered, his tone firm. "This is not the time nor the place for such matters to be discussed. When we are home, all will be explained."

"I told you, I'm not coming-"

It suddenly clicked. He glanced over at LE-5, noticing her stance had changed to that of aggression- she was ready to move at a moment's notice. Somehow, she had managed to inch ever close to him during their conversation. He looked back at his former mentor.

"You aren't here in place of a retrieval team- you _are_ the retrieval team."

Alastor set his mouth in a thin line. "Six, I am telling you for the last time- come with us. Be reasonable, boy."

Six felt his chest tighten; he never took his eyes off of Alastor's. "Alastor, I'm asking you- not just as your student, but as your _friend-_ don't do this. Please."

There were a few tense seconds between them- he watched as his teacher's eyes wavered ever so slightly, as they stared back into the blue eyes of the boy he'd practically raised, the one who was begging him for mercy now.

Then, they became steely once more.

"You should know better, Six … I cannot ignore my duty. Primus inter pares."

Six turned and ran, or tried to- the back of his coat was grabbed very quickly and firmly by LE-5. Thinking quickly, he shed the layer of clothing and allowed himself to drop to the floor, rolling forward and into a sprint.

He made it no more than two meters before he felt her arm collide with his side, sending him reeling into a crowd of bystanders. Gasps and cries rang out as he felt himself rolling over bodies and tumbling to the floor, his ribs aching from where the Nomad had struck him.

He made one final attempt to escape, but no sooner had he stood up than LE-5 had reached him, and proceeded to place her hand on his throat. The other visitors watched in shock and confusion, unaware of the context for why the AI was attacking him.

"A pity," she said, genuinely sounding disappointed. "Maybe if you had partnered with me instead of LE-2, none of this would have happened."

He kicked at her out of spite, knowing that it wouldn't do anything more than amuse her. He was so _sick_ of this Nomad and her damned attitude. "Maybe- but then I'd actually have to work with you, and no one deserves that kind of punishment-"

She brought her face closer to his, and he could have sworn that the Nomad's optics were glaring daggersat him. "I'm superior to her in every way, and you say I'm a _punishment?"_

"Not _every_ way, your people-skills could use some work-"

"If this is how you talked to her, it's no wonder she ran at the first opportunity."

"Ellie ran because she can think for herself," he spat angrily, refusing to let her see just how much that jab had stung. _"You,_ on the other hand, are just another tool to be thrown away-!"

"Enough."

Alastor approached them, and tapped LE-5 on the shoulder. "I fear we may have attracted too many witnesses. Contain him, and rectify that issue- is that clear?"

She nodded immediately. "Understood, sir." She turned back towards Six, and he watched in fear as the front of her body opened up in preparation to trap him within her armor.

"No, let me _go-!"_

He shoved against her with his foot, trying to do everything he could to keep himself from being forced inside- he turned to the people watching them in fear and waved them away.

"Run! RUN!"

A few shrieks rang out at his order, breaking the crowd's stupor. Many of them heeded his advice, heading for any and all exits in a panic. Two in particular tried to assist the young man they saw being assaulted, moving to attack LE-5. One of them tried to pull her arm away, only for her to hit them with her free hand.

The man's face caved in, and his body fell lifeless to the floor. The other started to back away at seeing what had become of his friend, but only made it a step or so before Alastor closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around their head. There was a loud _crack,_ and their body joined their friend's on the ground.

It gave Six just enough of a distraction to place his feet against LE-5's midsection, and push away from her. He felt a momentary relief as he felt her lose her grip on his throat, only for that relief to be followed by immediate pain as the Nomad kicked out at him and sent him spinning into a wall.

There was a great crash as his back broke the plaster; then, he fell to the floor. He gasped in pain as debris fell atop him, trying to force air into his lungs. She walked over to where he lay, and stood over him tauntingly.

"You've defended LE-2 for years, preventing her from being decommissioned- yet, she's nowhere to be found in _your_ time of need."

He groaned, tasting copper in his mouth. He was too weakened to give any other sort of response at the moment.

The Nomad knelt down. "Once we've retrieved you, I have orders to find and terminate her. When I do, I'll be sure to send her your regards."

"No …" he gurgled, spitting out blood. "Don't …"

He was helpless to resist as she opened her front paneling up again, and reached out to drag his limp form into her awaiting chassis-

Without warning, the ceiling exploded into a shower of dust and crumbling rock. LE-5 glanced up in shock before being knocked away by the force of a metallic leg swinging forward and driving its foot into her face. The Nomad was sent careening across the room, but used her thrusters to stabilize herself before she landed.

Both she and Six were astonished to find Ellie standing in front of him, crouching low to the ground and holding one arm over him protectively. She stared down LE-5 with a fury he'd never seen from her before, and readied the guns on her arms.

"Don't. Touch. Him."

"Ellie," he tried to say, reaching a hand towards her. "Please-" She couldn't be here, she'd be _killed-_

" _Six,"_ she growled, effectively silencing him, _"shut up."_

"LE-2!" Alastor called out, recovering quickly from her surprise appearance. "Stand down at once, and surrender Six to us!"

Ellie looked back at Six where he feebly stirred from LE-5's attacks, and shook her head defiantly. "I think I'm where I need to be, thanks."

The man clenched his jaw, and gave a single nod in her direction. "Very well. I wish things hadn't come to this." He looked over at LE-5. "LE-5, no harm is to come to Six- you may destroy LE-2."

"With pleasure, sir," the other Nomad agreed, standing back up and readying her own weapons for a fight.

Ellie looked at her opposition; her sister of sorts. Stronger, faster, and more advanced than she was, she had no misconceptions about how uneven this fight was shaping up to be. "Six, in case this goes badly …"

She turned back to him as he looked back at her from the floor. "I'm holding you personally responsible if my paint gets chipped."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I know it's been a while, hopefully this nearly 4,000 word chapter can make up for that.**_

 _ **So, who are we rooting for so far? Gray and her team of Ghosts? Or the outlaw duo of Six and Ellie? Let me know in the review section below!**_

 _ **Until the next time,**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


	10. Enemies with Benefits

LE-5 pushed hard and fast, but Ellie was ready for her. When the newer model thrusted forward with an outstretched leg, intent on planting it squarely in her sister's chest, Ellie caught her ankle in a firm grip and rotated sharply to the right. Releasing her hold, she flung the other Nomad into the adjacent wall, watching with satisfaction as LE-5 impacted against it and sent chunks of its plaster flying outward.

Momentarily stuck in the wall, LE-5 pushed herself out and back onto the floor. Lowering her head, she glowered at Ellie.

"My turn."

She closed the gap between them again, sliding along the floor. Ellie tried to cross her arms in front of her, but was a tad slow—LE-5 rose up and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the older Nomad reeling. Not one to waste an opening, LE-5 began to hammer blow after blow into her stunned target, attempting to land critical hits on vital areas.

Six had to tear his attention away from the two of them, however, as he turned his head and saw Alastor approaching fast. Rolling onto his feet, he ignored the pain in his chest and readied his fists.

"This is foolishness," Alastor said sharply, his mouth and goatee twisted into a frown. "I taught you better than this."

"You taught me what I needed to know," Six shot back, unwavering from his position. "I owe allegiance to no one. The only true power is knowledge—and that's why you never told me the truth."

Alastor stared at him for a moment, his body deflating with a heavy sigh. Then, his fist lashed towards Six's face.

 _Sidestep, adjust footing._

Having expected the surprise attack, Six dodged it nimbly and sent a fist of his own right into Alastor's solar plexus. The older man staggered backwards, his eyes widening in pain.

 _Press the advantage._

He reached forward, clapping his hands against the sides of his former mentor's head, disorienting him and stunning him further. This time, however, Alastor was ready for it. Reaching up, he grabbed one of Six's arms and twisted it backwards to force him closer.

 _Adapt to the situation._

Bending his knees, he leapt up in the air and spun his body backwards. Somersaulting back onto his feet with his arm no longer being twisted, he lunged forward and head-butted Alastor squarely in the nose.

 _End it._

As Alastor's hold on him was released, Six ran forward and jumped in the air. Bringing both his feet up to his chest, he launched them out and right into his opponent's chest with as much force as he could muster. With a pained shout, Alastor was sent flying several meters backwards, collapsing in a heap on the floor.

Panting, he turned worriedly to look back at how Ellie was faring. LE-5 had wrapped her arms around her now, but Ellie wasn't having it. Activating her thrusters, she jetted upward and rotated to slam LE-5 into the ceiling. The jarring collision forced the younger model to let go, and caused her to fall and crash back down into the ground while Ellie landed safely on her hands and knees.

He spun around once more when he heard a stirring groan, and saw Alastor picking himself back up and onto his feet. He cursed under his breath—the man was a lot tougher than he looked, and he already looked rather tough.

Stepping away, he and Ellie moved to a position where they each had their backs to one another, watching their respective opponents; Alastor glaring angrily at him, and LE-5 standing up to prepare for another charge at Ellie.

"For the record, I'm still mad at you," Ellie retorted to him from behind.

He huffed in exasperation. "For what, trying to save your life?"

"From where I'm standing, I'm not the one who needs saving."

"Point taken."

LE-5 and Alastor began to circle them, looking for a chink in the armor. Six and Ellie matched their movements, remaining vigilant—but they knew they couldn't hold out forever. Alastor was far more experienced than Six, and Ellie had no chance of outmatching LE-5 in a direct confrontation. Sooner or later, one of them would slip up and—

" _All of you, freeze!"_

His eyes widened in recognition. Turning towards where he'd heard the order, he watched as Lieutenant Gray and her team of 'Ghosts' approached with their weapons drawn. Two of them had eyes on LE-5 and Alastor while Gray and the simulacrum had theirs trained on him and Ellie.

"Six," she began, "we have no intention of hurting you. But we need you to stand down and come with us." She turned towards Alastor. "As for _you,_ don't go anywhere. We've got a lot of questions for you."

The scene before them was a strange one; a Nomad and its Pilot surrounded by another Nomad and _its_ Pilot, and all four of them being held at gunpoint by a squad of four who didn't exactly know who to shoot.

It was Alastor that made the first move. Rolling to the right, he put Six between himself and the Ghosts and took away their leverage. LE-5 thrusted over to him, opening the front of her chassis and allowing him access. Jumping in, the last thing Six saw was his former mentor looking over at him with a mixture of disappointment and regret.

"I said _don't—!"_

The Nomad paid them no mind as it shot up through the ceiling without a word, its thrusters leaving a cloud of smoke in its wake. As the Ghosts watched it leave, Six took the opportunity to follow Alastor's example and jump into Ellie's waiting chassis. He bent down, ready to lift off—

"Six, wait!"

Something in her voice made him hesitate. He glanced over towards Gray through Ellie's optics, locking onto her pleading expression.

"Listen to me—I know that you're scared. I know that you want answers, and we're in the same boat." She dropped her gun at her feet, indicating for the others to do the same. After a brief moment of hesitancy, they followed her example.

She extended a hand towards him. "I promise, we can help you find them."

He stared at her hand wordlessly for a few moments, contemplating her offer. All of his instincts were screaming at him to _get the hell out of here_ —but something inside him was telling him otherwise. Something he couldn't explain.

If he truly was going rogue … maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have allies.

He bowed his head in her direction. "The _Cascade of Spirits_. One hour."

With that, he launched himself upward and through the ceiling.

"No, Six—!"

Gray watched him fly away, and clenched her hands into fists. "Damn it!"

Danvers retrieved his weapon from the ground, and looked up at her questioningly. "What now, boss?"

She sighed frustratedly, mirroring his action and placing her gun on her back. "You heard him. Let's head back to the _Cascade_."

"We're not going after him?"

"Unless you've been hiding one of those mini-Titans this whole time, we're grounded," she grunted. "For now, we're going to have do this his way."

 **—X—**

Six sat on the edge of the rooftop, his legs dangling over the side as he absentmindedly watched the crowds of people on the street below. Ellie sat beside him, her body poised in the same position, but she avoided looking at him.

He sighed as he lifted a hand up to wipe away a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Ellie?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for, um … coming back."

She ever so slightly turned in his direction, her optics barely visible from this angle. "You're welcome."

He looked down at his feet, hearing the calm, quiet anger and hurt that was still present in her voice from earlier. "You know … I didn't mean what I said on the ship."

She said nothing.

"I kept thinking about what _he_ told me … how I had to stop letting my attachments get the better of me, that it would make me weak, and I let him get to my head."

Ellie snorted. "Yeah, I've heard that before."

"I didn't want you to leave," he continued, looking back up at her. "I was just trying to protect you."

"I know."

His brow shot up in surprise. "You—you knew?"

"Yeah. I also know that you've been protecting me for years," she admitted. "You're not as hard to read as you think you are."

"Then why are you so pissed off? If you know that I only said what I did to make you go—"

"Because I'm tired of trying to bail water from a sinking ship," she snapped. "You're the closest thing I have to a friend, and I know damn well that you consider me the same. The difference is that I'm the only one willing to call it for what it is—you'd rather go down with the boat than show any kind of emotion because you care more about _his_ approval than our friendship."

He blinked, stunned by the bluntness—and accuracy—of her sentiment. "So … you're mad because I don't _act_ like you're my best friend?"

"In the most basic sense, yeah. For once, it'd be nice for you to show that you give a damn about me."

"Ellie, the Advocate has been watching my every move for my entire life. If I hadn't argued on your behalf, you would have been decommissioned and replaced two years ago." He sighed again, clasping his hands in his lap and fiddling with one of the holes in the dirty jeans he wore. "I _couldn't_ show any attachment or else I wouldn't have had any say in the matter. Even then, he came very close to replacing you several times in the years since. It wasn't that I didn't want to, I just—"

"I know," she said, her voice much softer than it had been before. "It's not fair for me to be mad at you for that. I … I'm just angry at this whole situation. This sucks."

"You're telling _me,"_ he muttered, remembering his shock at learning the truth about himself. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know—for dragging you into all this, saying what I said, never taking the time to acknowledge our friendship? Take your pick."

"And I'm sorry for blaming you when none of this is really your fault."

The two of them fell into silence again for some time, watching the people of Harmony as they went about their business, completely ignorant to the contents of the conversation taking place twenty meters above them.

"So," Six started, letting out a deep breath, "I guess we're on the run now."

"Yeah."

He glanced over towards her. "Well, so long as we're rogue … friends?"

She turned to look at him, and saw his hand outstretched to shake hers. The expression he had on his face was so earnest, so _genuine_ for once that she wished she had a mouth to smile with.

"It's a start. Let's see how it goes from here."

She gripped his hand in hers, and the two of them shook warmly. Looking back at the ground beneath them, Six exhaled deeply. "Well … we've got about twenty minutes left before we meet back up with Gray."

Ellie spun around in confusion. "Hang on, you _meant_ what you said? I thought you were just trying to give us an escape."

He shook his head. "Maybe part of me was thinking that—but we both know what we're up against. The Advocate has eyes and ears everywhere, there's no way we'll make it on our own. Eventually Alastor will come after us again, or maybe it'll be an actual retrieval squad next time. Either way, we need to start making friends, and fast."

"Can we trust them? We've been attacking the FDN for years, why would they offer to help us now?"

He pursed his lips. "I don't trust the FDN, not yet—but I trust that woman. Gray."

"Why?"

He looked over at Ellie and gestured to himself. "Because of who I am. She needs _us_ just as badly as we need her."

Processing his words, the Nomad gave a frustrated groan. "I hate it when you're right."

 **—X—**

Gray stood against a crate in the hangar, checking the time in the corner of her HUD every minute or so.

"It's five minutes past," Husher growled.

Danvers rocked back and forth on his heels. "Think he's not coming?"

"Would you?" Vogel asked honestly.

"Probably not."

Gray sighed. "Damn it." Turning to her right, she saw Ava watching the rest of them attentively. "Ava, see if you can open a line to Harmony air control, ask them to monitor radar for an object fitting that mini-Titan's profile. We'll have to do a sweep of the city tomorrow and hope for the best."

Ava was about to respond, but something caught her attention. "I do not believe that will be necessary, Lieutenant."

Furrowing her brow at the ancillary's cryptic response, Gray turned around to look out of the hangar door. At first, she saw nothing—then, her eyes were able to distinguish a bright point of light in the air that was approaching fast.

"Ava, make sure our automated defenses are down," she ordered quickly. "We don't want them to open fire and scare him off."

"Done, Lieutenant."

The four Ghosts watched silently as Six continued making his way towards the _Cascade of Spirits_ , eventually flying in through the open hangar door and disengaging his thrusters. Falling down to the ground, he landed neatly on his feet, then turned to look at the group of four—the same group that he'd been trying to kill the day before.

" _Alright, Gray. Let's talk."_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Before you click away, please read what this author's note has to say.**_

 _ **Yes, I'm aware that it's been over a year since I updated this story. There's a reason for that—since March of last year, I switched focus onto two things, the first of which being the rewrite of the current continuity. I finally finished the rewrite of Inferno in 'The Architect Codex', and I'm much happier with the canon now than I was before. There are still things to fix with Tempest and Cinder, but I've put those on hold for the second thing.**_

 _ **I have actually been writing a LOT since the last time I updated, just not fanfiction; see, I've actually been writing a 100 percent original novel of my own titled, "Spectra: The Mark of Eden". I'm hoping to finish it this year and actually get it published, that would be a dream come true for me. And I'm going to keep focusing on it until I finish, so sorry to say but this story is going to be back on hold again until that happens.**_

 _ **If, however, you actually enjoy reading my work because you're a fan of my writing rather than just these particular stories, then I would LOVE if you gave Spectra a shot! Most of the book is done, and it's completely free to read on Wattpad! I've had a lot of fun developing the universe that Spectra takes place in, as well as the diverse and colorful main cast of characters! I even have artwork available of them on my discord server, so be sure to join that if you haven't already.**_

 _ **If you want to read the book, just search up its title on google or Wattpad, and if you want to join the discord server, then use the link below and remove the spaces;**_

 **www . discord . io / Starfall**

 _ **Thanks, and I hope to see you there!**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


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